DOCTORS REFORM SOCIETY

DRS

Media Release

Thursday, 6 March 2008

ANOTHER $180 MILLION IN TAXES FOR PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY

 

 “The announcement of another 4.99% increase in Private Health Insurance (PHI) premiums is another blow to Australians struggling to pay for basics such as food and petrol and rising interest rates.  Its also means another $180 million in taxes gifted to the private hospital industry (through the PHI rebate) to promote queue jumping for those Australians fortunate and/or desperate enough to afford Private Health Insurance,” said Dr Tim Woodruff, President, Doctors Reform Society.

“Whilst public patients wait years even to see a specialist at a public hospital, let alone get an operation, taxes are used to help those with PHI go private within weeks of deciding they need their operation.”

“What do I say to my patient whose hip needs replacing?, asked Dr Woodruff. ‘Go home, take some painkillers, get a walking frame, and get used to limping and not sleeping’, or ‘Go home, stop spending money on anything except basic food and shelter, and save up for PHI so you too can jump the queue."

“How have we come to this,” asked Dr Woodruff, “that nearly $3 billion in taxes are spent every year to prop up such an unfair system which bleeds taxpayers, feeds the private health industry, and leaves our most needy in preventable pain for years.”

“Poor working families and the many pensioners and health care card holders who will never benefit from PHI should be asking the new Federal Government how this terrible injustice can be endorsed by a party which prides itself on an interest in working families. All Australians who end up needing a public hospital in an emergency such as a heart attack, major MVA etc are losing out under the current system of large public subsidy to the inefficient private health insurance system”