11 February 2017 - The fiery battle between private health insurers and medical device companies has kicked up a gear as the Turnbull government considers reforms that could have a significant impact on both sectors.

A Senate inquiry into the pricing system for the Prostheses List, which dictates what funds must pay for medical devices, has forced both sides of the debate to defend their position, with insurers arguing the list has been on “set and forget” for a long period of time and was being gamed by medical device providers.

The prostheses issue was highlighted by insurers yesterday when federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced premiums would rise this year by an average 4.84%. The top insurers used their annual increase announcements to defend the rise and highlight how rising health costs and prostheses pricing affected policy prices.

Read The Australian article