Senators boycott health rebate hearing
The Age
Wednesday June 10, 2009
OPPOSITION senators have boycotted a hearing into changes to private health insurance rebates as new data reveals more of Australia's sick are heading to private hospitals.Figures in a report released today by a government agency, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, show that admissions to hospitals hit 7.9 million during 2007-08, representing an average annual increase of 3.6 per cent over the past four years.While public hospital admissions grew by an estimated 3.1 per cent a year, private hospital admissions grew 4.3 per cent, the "Australian hospital statistics 2007-08" report found. But despite the growth in the private system, public hospitals still account for about six in 10 hospital admissions.Other key findings were:- Elective surgery waiting times in public hospitals reached a median of 34 days, up two days on a year earlier, and more than six days on the figure in 2003-04.- Presentations to emergency departments reached more than 7 million, a 5 per cent annual increase over the five years before.- During 2007-08, spending on public hospitals was $28.9 billion, up 6.1 per cent on a year earlier, after adjusting for inflation.In the Senate economics committee yesterday the Australian Health Insurance Association reiterated claims that nearly 250,000 Australians will dump their private health insurance after changes in the budget."The legislation will ultimately result in higher premiums, particularly for older Australians as more people exit or downgrade their cover," AHIA executive director Michael Armitage told the committee.The hearing was delayed by more than four hours after the committee's Coalition senators boycotted proceedings and independent senator Nick Xenophon was unavailable.Shadow parliamentary secretary for health administration Mathias Cormann justified the boycott by claiming that the hearing was "rushed" and a "charade". He said the issue should be subject to a longer inquiry before the community affairs committee rather than the economic committee.
© 2009 The Age
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