This Month
Ramsay, Healthscope reject ‘nonsense’ health insurance funding promise
The country’s biggest private hospital operators will push the government to force an increase in the percentage of their premiums paid to them.
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.
‘Game on’: David Di Pilla closes in on Healthscope
David Di Pilla’s HMC Capital is closing in on Healthscope after Australia’s second-largest private hospital operator failed to pay all the rent due on its 11 hospitals.
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.
Healthscope to close maternity wards in Darwin and Hobart
The Coalition has seized on the shutdowns to accuse Labor of failing to take action to stop the closure of critical health service
Catholic Health’s new plan to fix hospitals at ‘breaking point’
Private hospital groups have sent Labor a package of proposals they say can save the struggling sector.
David Di Pilla’s HMC Capital eyes Healthscope hospitals
The alternative asset manager and other operators are talking to Healthscope’s landlords about taking over Australia’s second-biggest hospital group.
Ramsay warns of no profit growth as it slashes British assets
Ramsay Health Care’s new chief executive, Natalie Davis, says first-half earnings will be weaker this year because of offshore impairments.
December 2024
Healthscope on life support as Brookfield tips in more funding
The owner of 38 private hospitals has told staff its debt burden and rents paid to landlords have become difficult to support. It is trying to stave off closures.
Private hospitals split over industry’s demand for emergency funding
Two not-for-profit groups say they are opposed to calls from bigger players like Ramsay Health Care for more money, or the introduction of $200 visit fees.
November 2024
Ramsay resists investor pressure to dump international hospitals
The private hospital giant’s chairman David Thodey says he cannot rule out offshore asset sales, but shareholders want more certainty.
Health insurers warn of closures without 6pc premium hike
Health funds have asked Labor to allow big premium rises as the amount they charge policyholders is not keeping pace with healthcare inflation.
Brookfield’s Healthscope secures extension on $1.6b debt
The private hospital operator has been given more time from its lenders to secure extra funding from insurers as costs mount.
Private hospitals warn of more closures after Labor refuses bailout
Health Minister Mark Butler has told struggling private hospital operators to sort out their own problems and resolve differences with insurers.
October 2024
Healthscope vows to terminate Bupa deal if it does not accept fees
Healthscope has written to Bupa asking it to amend its contract to let it slug members with extra hospital fees.
Insurer HCF bows to NSW pressure on hospital bed rates
Insurers say they are being held hostage by the NSW government which is threatening to hike taxes if they do not pay more to use public hospital beds.
Ramsay calls for insurance shake-up as hospital bailout hopes sink
Ramsay Health Care says it is not expecting the federal government to bail out loss-making hospitals.
September 2024
‘At tipping point’: Inside one of Australia’s busiest hospitals
Doctors and nurses in Australia’s busiest emergency ward say the system is under unprecedented pressure amid a surge in mental illness and geriatric patients with nowhere else to go.