Posted by Michael Wonder on 03 Sep 2017
Health insurers blamed for rising health care costs
4 September 2017 - Australians blame health insurers for rising costs in the nation’s health care system, new consumer research reveals, but an industry expert argues specialists and hospitals are fuelling rocketing costs, leaving insurers to pick up the tab.
A survey of 1535 people commissioned by health insurance giant Bupa revealed that Australians had identified addressing rising costs as the single most important factor for improving the healthcare system.
Dwayne Crombie, Bupa’s Australian health insurance boss, said the research presented the industry with an interesting conundrum because while people held insurers most accountable for costs, it was medical specialists and hospitals that set the fees, while insurers and governments were left to pick up the tab.
