media releases

Reports today that Treasury has repeatedly told the Rudd Government that the Private Health Insurance (PHI) rebate is inefficient is hardly surprising news, said Dr Tim Woodruff, President, Doctors Reform Society.

It’s very obvious to us as doctors and to patients and relatives across the country that the private/ public divide is inequitable, said Dr Woodruff. Public patients wait years on crutches or in wheelchairs for their hip replacements whilst private patients are treated within weeks. The PHI rebate encourages queue jumping of public waiting lists by those who, with taxpayer support, can afford PHI. The rebate has also funded the growth of the private sector, taking doctors out of the short staffed public sector.

The Government’s National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission claims principles of efficiency and equity. They didn’t address the PHI rebate.

We call on the Prime Minister to fulfil his promises of a root and branch analysis of the health system and evidence based policy and include the PHI rebate in the current review of the health system, said Dr Woodruff. Without such inclusion the review is badly flawed from the beginning.

Dr Tim Woodruff
President
Doctors Reform Society

Dr Con Costa
Vice President
Doctors Reform Society

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