Inside the stoush between private hospitals and health insurers
As finances deteriorate, insurers and providers are slugging it out over how to overhaul a healthcare system which has not seen serious reform in decades.
The chief executives of Australia’s biggest healthcare companies sat down with the Albanese government last week to report on the crisis facing the country’s private hospitals. The diagnosis was grim.
Hospital operators say the $22 billion sector is at a crunch point. Soaring costs and wages, and tanking patient numbers since the COVID-19 pandemic, mean many of the country’s 650 private hospitals are losing money. Maternity is the hardest hit due to high specialist fees and out-of-pocket costs. More closures are looming.
Michael SmithHealth editorMichael Smith is the health editor for The Australian Financial Review. He is based in Sydney. Connect with Michael on Twitter. Email Michael at michael.smith@afr.com
