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Surprise at proposal to let private insurers cover GP visits | Medical Observer

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Surprise at proposal to let private insurers cover GP visits Julie Lambert (/author/julie-lambert) 9 November 2015

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PROPOSALS to let private health insurers cover GP visits would only hurt patients and do nothing to lift support for the private system, doctors say. The government has floated the idea in a questionnaire (http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/phiconsultations201516), released on Sunday, asking consumers for their input on possible reforms as

part of its inquiry into the private health insurance industry. RACGP president Dr Frank Jones says he is surprised by the inclusion of an idea the government has always opposed. “There may be a place for private health insurance to work with general practice in areas such as chronic illness, but in the acute phase this is not going to help,” Dr Jones tells MO. “From our point of view, access to general practice is critical for our patients. Putting up barriers in their way will do the nation no good.” In its mission to address disease prevention and the declining affordability of health insurance, the government should accept there is a “public health imperative” to look at issues such as obesity and sugar, he adds. AMA president Professor Brian Owler has attacked the online survey as an “incredible waste of money”.

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In the survey, consumers are invited to consider a number of services, including GP consultations, diagnostic imaging and pathology, community-based palliative care, renal dialysis and private hospital ED treatment, which are not covered by private health funds. They are asked to select three areas where private cover should be extended, knowing that premiums would rise as a result. Consumers Health Forum CEO Leanne Wells says proposals such as extending cover to GP costs, higher premiums for smokers and changing the community rating basis for insurance don’t represent serious attempts to fix the system. “These may all seem like worthwhile ideas but are red herrings when it comes to the fundamental issues with health insurance that need to be resolved,” she says. “Given the small and declining number of smokers, and even lower proportion of those with health insurance, such a measure has limitations.” Ms Wells says extending cover to GP visits poses two major drawbacks - further heavy rises in premiums and an erosion of access to Medicare as insured patients would receive preferred status over the 50% of Australians with no insurance. “Changing the community rating rules which prohibits insurers from discriminating on the basis of past or likely future health or risk factors such as a

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pre-existing chronic condition or lifestyle would also pose big rises to insurance as we know it for many people,” she says. Labor’s health spokesperson Catherine King says the survey is cause for alarm. “If the poll endorses charging smokers more for health insurance, how long before the government moves to look at charging people more based on their age, weight, alcohol consumption, general fitness, genetic testing or family history of cancer?” Ms King asks. Labor will look at serious proposals to make health insurance better for consumers, but any move to scrap community rating and price health insurance based on risk will simply shift the most seriously ill patients on to public hospitals, she says. Health Minister Sussan Ley launched the consultation at the weekend, saying she was concerning about Australians downscaling their health insurance. “This government is committed to recalibrating the private health system so that value for money for consumers returns to being its core focus, and we’re interested in the views of everyday Australians on how best to do that.” Ms Ley said Australians dumped or downgraded half a million “all-inclusive” private health insurance policies last year, with a record shift to cheaper policy options. She said this partly reflected the “true pain of Labor’s multi-billion private health cuts”. “A longer-term trend of premium increases above inflation across successive governments also suggests there is a something wrong with the regulatory foundations of our private health system,” the minister said. The Consumers Health Forum has put up its own survey to help inform its submission to the government consultations on the issue. See the CHF survey here (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CHF_PHIReview).

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Sussan Ley (/tags/sussan-ley), Government (/tags/government), Health Policy

(/tags/health-policy), RACGP (/tags/racgp), AMA (/tags/ama)

Author: Julie Lambert Political Reporter Julie Lambert covers politics for Medical Observer, with special interests in public health, rural medicine, business, medico-legal matters and the environment. She was formerly chief sub-editor at Australian Associated Press and a business reporter and editor in Japan.

More articles by this author > (http://twitter.com/PedanticLamb) (http://www.medicalobserver.com.au/author/julielambert)