The Australian Medical Association today welcomed the federal government's release of the summary report from the Private Hospital Sector Financial Health Check and announcement that the CEO Forum established as part of the review will continue.
AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said the AMA had been deeply concerned about the sustainability of private hospitals, given the large number of hospitals that have had to either close or restrict services in recent years.
"Many of these closures or restricted services have impacted critical areas, including maternity or mental health, contributing to access issues for patients across Australia," Dr McMullen said.
However, Dr McMullen said the declining financial viability of many private hospitals was a symptom of broader structural issues in the sector that are a result of a lack of genuine reform over the past two decades.
"This issue of hospital viability was identified as urgent at the AMA's 2023 private health workshop attended by leaders from hospitals, insurers, the device sector, consumers and doctors.
"The Private Hospital Health Check brought all key private players together through the health check's CEO Forum and was an important first step to identifying some the reforms required."
AMA Vice President and private specialist Associate Professor Julian Rait said Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler's announcement today that the CEO Forum would continue was welcome.
"The AMA has long been calling for a stakeholder-led reform body as part of our advocacy for an independent Private Health System Authority ," Assoc. Prof Rait said.
"We also welcome the commitment to look at short-term measures to address some of the issues identified in the health check and more importantly the opportunity to explore long-term reform.
"However, it is critical any reforms are underpinned by an acknowledgement of the importance of the private sector in the wider healthcare system, and the over-riding objective of maximising patient access to safe, high-quality healthcare."
Assoc. Prof Rait said the AMA had argued for several years that there was a need for an independent and well-resourced regulatory mechanism — a Private Health Systems Authority (PHSA) — to oversee closer ongoing monitoring of the private healthcare system and to ensure its long-term sustainability.
"The AMA looks forward to working with the government through the CEO Forum to ensure the community has access to a strong, vibrant and affordable private health sector," he said.
