Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Private Health Insurance Legislation Amendment (Medical Device and Human Tissue Product List and Cost Recovery) Bill 2022 and related bills. Collectively these bills implement the first stage of long-awaited amendments to better administer medical device and prostheses pricing in Australia. They clarify the items that may be included on the list under the Private Health Insurance Rules and update cost recovery arrangements, implementing a levy for medical devices, which will provide for the cost of assessing and administering applications. These are positive steps.

Private Healthcare Australia advises that we in Australia pay some of the highest prices in the world for medical devices, on average 30 to 50 per cent above the United Kingdom, Europe, South Africa and New Zealand. Australia's increasing private health insurance premiums are, in part, due to these costs. Case studies include a bolt valued at $45 with a list price of over a thousand dollars. The egregious cost to consumers before this was resolved has never been recouped. And this is not a new scenario.

My former Centre Alliance colleague, former senator Stirling Griff, was determined to address rampant overpricing in this area. Senator Griff fought for a Senate inquiry into the industry to look into the cost of medical devices and prostheses here and elsewhere, other potential pricing mechanisms, and opportunities to create a more competitive basis for purchase and reimbursement of these items. Senator Griff argued that the failure of Australia's medical device pricing arrangements to keep pace with advancements elsewhere was costing Australian health consumers millions of dollars in higher premiums. The other issue related to this is all the people who left private health insurance because they just couldn't afford the premiums anymore. They are then on long hospital waiting lists, and they are often in excruciating pain for a long time, particularly with respect to hip and knee replacements. There have been some improvements in scrutiny of the list, which has saved consumer dollars. In 2021-22 the former government committed to a number of initiatives to help further reduce the cost of medical devices for private patients. This package does go some way to assisting this and bringing former senator Griff's work to fruition. However, I would be keen to see more done to support a robust compliance framework.

The Therapeutic Goods Act provides for criminal and civil offences for misleading the Therapeutic Goods Administration about placing therapeutic goods on the Australian register. Conversely, I'm told that there are no penalties for misleading the Department of Health to have an item placed on the Prostheses List. Private Healthcare Australia is of the view that until the legislation is amended to include penalties for false and misleading statements in relation to the list, health funds and their members will continue to pay millions of dollars more in benefits each year than they should. I am therefore pleased to hear that the government is currently exploring future work on a more robust compliance framework, and I encourage the government to move as quickly possible on this to further reduce health insurance premiums and lower the cost of living for millions of Australians. I commend this bill to the House, and I support it.

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