10 October 2016 - Ramsay Health Care chief executive Chris Rex has called the almost $1 billion figure that the private health insurance industry estimates could be saved on prosthetic devices each year "ridiculous" and denied the company is the main beneficiary of the overspend.

Based on prices paid by public hospitals and private operators overseas, the private health insurance industry argues it is forced to pay anywhere between $700 million and $1 billion more than it should to cover the cost of devices like heart valves and replacement hips used in surgeries.

While public hospitals can negotiate good deals with suppliers for large volumes, private hospitals, which pass the cost on to the insurer, must pay a regulated price decided by the government's prostheses list advisory committee (PLAC) that consists of industry representatives. The list covers 9000 devices (although not prosthetic limbs).

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