Call to deny unvaccinated Aussies free health care

Singapore will no longer provide health care to people refusing Covid vaccines next month - will it happen here?

Health funds say government rules prevent them from charging unvaccinated members higher premiums even though they are likely to be a bigger drain on health fund resources.

It comes as former New South Wales premier Bob Carr suggested Australia follow Singapore’s lead and refuse free Medicare health care to unvaccinated patients who catch Covid.

“Follow Singapore and legislate no medical or hospital expenses to be reimbursed to people who are not vaccinated without medical justification and then contract Covid,” he wrote to Twitter on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected the advice and said on Thursday: “We live in a country where we’re not going to go around demonising those who want to make their own choices”.

“Of course, we want people to get vaccinated, but we’re not going to take that heavy handed approach,” he said.

Unvaccinated people are 16 times more likely to end up in ICU and die. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

Unvaccinated people are 16 times more likely to end up in high cost intensive care units (ICU) or die if they catch Covid, health data shows.

These patients spend between nine and 28 days in ICU, and many require ventilators.

However, fairness provisions prevent health funds risk-rating their customers and charging the unvaccinated higher premiums, insurers told News Corp.

The rules protect the sick and the elderly by requiring health insurers to charge people who have conditions such as cancer or heart disease and the frail elderly the same premium rates as the healthy.

Without these rules health insurance would be priced out of the reach of people who were ill.

“Australia’s private health insurance is based on a system of community rating which means that everyone pays the same premium for their health insurance and health funds are prevented from discriminating against members based on health status, age or claims history,” Private Healthcare Australia chief Dr Rachel David said.

“This means that health fund members will be covered for medical treatment according to their policy, regardless of vaccination or health status,” she said.

Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong’s government will stop paying the medical bills of unvaccinated people next month. Picture supplied.

A spokesman for one of Australia’s largest health funds Medibank said “ we support community rating because it is designed to ensure private health insurance is fair for everyone”.

Singapore controversially announced this week that unvaccinated people would have to fund the entire cost of their health care out of their own pocket if they contracted the virus.

From December 8, all Covid-19 patients in Singapore who are eligible for vaccination but have chosen not to get the jab will be sent a bill to cover their own coronavirus medical expenses.

Those who have received only one shot will not be charged for coronavirus treatment until December 31 to give them time to complete their vaccination.

Only 11 per cent of people out of 412 NSW patients who died during the Delta outbreak were fully vaccinated, and the average age of the vaccinated people who died was 82.

Mr Carr said vaccination against Covid should be mandatory.

“This should be enforced as we enforce smoke-free work environments or no driving while drunk,” he wrote.

And people who refused should have to pick up the full bill for their choice, he said.

“You ignored warnings and got the disease.

“You pay for your wilful stupidity, not the rest of us,” he said.