Today
Ramsay Health Care doesn’t want to waste a Healthscope crisis
The ASX-listed hospitals group is trying to fly below the radar with Healthscope, but the door is ajar. There is blood in the water and sharks come in all varieties.
This Month
Obesity is costing Australia a fortune, and the solution is in the pub
Prominent people were asked to propose one policy initiative they believed political parties should pledge to do, should they win the election.
Labor’s hospital funding push to cost health funds $1b a year
The health minister said there had been a “shift up in profitability and management expenses of insurers” as he urged them to negotiate with care providers.
Defending private hospitals is essential to ‘saving Medicare’
At Monday’s Financial Review Healthcare Summit, Mark Butler and Anne Ruston should rule in urgent reform that better balances needs of hospital operators and insurers.
March
HCF chief Sheena Jack resigns with a warning about healthcare’s future
The head of one of the country’s biggest health insurers says she’s not convinced private equity should be allowed to invest in hospitals.
HCF CEO allegedly froze out leadership rival before sacking her
The health insurance giant’s former chief information officer says staff were told she was terminated despite a “vague” investigation yet to be finished.
The healthcare policies rising at more than double the average
Many Australians and scaling down their private health insurance because of the cost, which is helping to drive premium increases to between 7 and 9 per cent.
Health insurance fees to rise more than Labor says
Health Minister Mark Butler has been called out for understating the size of the increase in health insurance premiums this year.
Insurers propose rescue package to end hospital payment feud
Health insurers are offering hospitals immediate funding relief but only if the government agrees to make medical devices cheaper.
Healthscope calls in KordaMentha to prepare its contingency plans
The country’s second-largest private hospital operator has engaged the restructuring experts just days after it failed to pay rent on 11 properties.
NSW plans workers compo cuts for psychological injury claims
NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey concedes some yet-to-be announced workers compensation changes “workers will perceive as not being positive to them”.
Healthscope resolves funding dispute with non-profit insurers
The Brookfield-owned private hospital giant said the agreement meant millions of members of the funds would not need to pay additional out-of-pocket fees.
February
Ramsay says Labor’s premium hike will not cover soaring hospital costs
Still, shares in the country’s largest private hospital operator rose sharply after it appointed Goldman Sachs to assess the sale of its European business.
Timing of health insurance rise another sign an election is nigh
In the current environment, no such proclamation would be complete without the counterfactual, otherwise known as Peter Dutton.
Health insurance premiums to rise 3.7pc in new cost-of-living hit
Health Minister Mark Butler has signed off on an above-inflation hike in private health insurance premiums, the biggest rise since 2018.
Healthscope loses chief executive and chairman amid debt pain
The country’s second-largest private hospital operator has appointed former Qantas executive Tino La Spina to take over as it negotiates with lenders.
Is Ramsay Health Care whipping itself into a frenzy?
The private hospital lobby is turning on itself and Labor is making mileage from it.
Gap in insurer refunds ‘shows need for health fund reform’
Doctors want an independent private health system authority to oversee conflicts between insurers and hospital groups over funding.
Amid global chaos, we are still the lucky country. Here’s why
Australians should step back and recognise the strength of the institutions that underpin our world-beating prosperity, writes Andrew Low.
January
Healthscope and Bupa avert funding crisis with new deal
The new agreement means hundreds of thousands of patients will be spared from paying higher hospital costs.