Posted by Michael Wonder on 18 Jul 2019
Health insurance rebate still a pain in the budget
18 July 2019 - The private health insurance sector wants increased rebates to stop the recent decline in membership.
It argues that reduced membership increases pressure on the public hospital system and waiting lists, because people will stop using private hospitals.
Membership has risen significantly since the rebate was introduced to around 45 per cent today. And public hospital patients are waiting longer than ever. The median waiting time for total knee replacement performed in public hospitals was 198 days in 2017-18, the longest it has ever been.
But the rebate has been bad policy from the start. It has cost Australian taxpayers billions of dollars each year with little benefit except to private health insurers and some with private health insurance.
