Posted by Michael Wonder on 07 Feb 2018
Mediscare merchants bid up private health insurance premiums
7 February 2018 - As the political author of the original "Mediscare" that has given the Australian Medical Association (the doctors' union and de facto regulator) effective power of veto over federal government health policy, Bill Shorten has tied his own hands on reforms that can fix the private health sector and lower the cost of health insurance premiums.
A temporary premium price cap is a superficial "feel your pain" political gesture that will not deal with the true causes of private insurance premium hikes.
The real problem is that the current system of private health regulation does not allow for rational use of scarce resources to achieve the best health outcomes at the best price.
