Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health Administration) Share this | Hansard source

Just a quick comment in relation to the remarks made by Senator Siewert: I do not think that anybody in this chamber has said that private health insurance is going to be the saviour of our health system. What we do say is that it is an important part of the success of our mixed health system; that it is important to keep the balance right; that it is important that we do not go back to the situation we had in 1996, when private health insurance was in free fall; and it is important that, as we introduce measures like this, they are properly assessed in terms of the impact they will have on our health system so that those impacts can be properly managed. None of that has happened.

Australians taking additional responsibility for their healthcare needs and accessing public hospitals are entitled to do that. Every Australian taxpayer pays the Medicare levy. Australians are entitled to access free universal health care. The reality is that 44.7 per cent of Australians make a choice to take additional responsibility—to make additional contributions—and, by doing so, they have the option of accessing services in private hospitals.

If you look at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare statistics on hospital utilisation data from the period of 1999 onwards, you will find that significantly more of the growth in hospital episodes was absorbed by the private sector. The private sector absorbed about 46 per cent of the growth in demand. There was increase of about 46 per cent in private hospital episodes contrasted with an increase of about 20 per cent in the public sector.

The point I am making is this: yes, there are still challenges in the system; of course there are. State Labor governments have been responsible for running most of those health systems at the state level. Of course there are challenges. But, believe you me, the situation would be significantly more if it were not for the 10 million Australians prepared to take additional responsibility for their healthcare needs by taking out private health insurance. Like Senator Xenophon, those are the people that I am concerned about. This is not a debate about private health insurance funds; this is a debate about the people that choose to take additional responsibility for their healthcare needs and whether this Senate is going to allow the government to force these people’s premiums up by between five and 10 per cent on top of any increase in the normal course of events. That is what this question is all about, and our answer to that question is no.

I do not think that Senator Siewert’s comments were accurately pitched when she suggested that somehow we were saying that private health insurance was going to be the saviour of the health system. What we are saying is that, if it had not been for the initiatives introduced by the Howard government—the Lifetime Health Cover initiative, the private health insurance rebate and the Medicare levy surcharge—things would be significantly worse. If you are going to make a change to a system that has turned the ship around and restored balance in our health system then, before you proceed, you ought to conduct a proper assessment of the impact of that measure on our health system. To do anything else is totally irresponsible.