A new chair for Private Healthcare Australia with the appointment of former South Australian health minister John Hill.
Mr Hill served the South Australian parliament from 1997 until 2014, including 8 years as health minister (2005-2013).
"With more than 20 years’ experience in public life and 11 years as Minister in South Australia, he was instrumental in the development of some of the State’s most significant health projects, including the New Royal Adelaide Hospital and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute," said the association in a statement.
Chief executive Dr Rachel David said the industry would benefit from Mr Hill’s experience as a public policy professional and as a highly-respected Board director.
His current directorships include deputy chancellor of the University of SA, independent Chair of the Goyder Institute for Water Research, deputy chair of ACH Group and director of Bellberry.
Mr Hill said he was looking forward to working with the private health sector during what he described as the "challenging reform implementation phase".
The industry is currently working on the implementation of a range of reforms negotiated with health minister Greg Hunt, including the categorisation of all private health insurance policies as Gold, Silver, Bronze or Basic.
“Being a Minister provided enormous opportunities to develop competencies and skills such as strategic planning, policy development and implementation and ethical governance – making mistakes along the way but surviving long enough to be confident that they have all been developed to a high level. As Health Minister I oversaw a budget of more than $4.5b, a workforce of over 30,000 while implementing a significant reform agenda,” said Mr Hill, who will take up his position in May.
Dr David added, “The PHI industry is extremely fortunate to secure the skills of someone so well-respected and influential on both sides of government, with a genuine passion and interest in health sector reform. His appointment will complement the expertise and skills of the current PHA Board which represents a cross section of the industry of both profit and not-for-profit health funds from around Australia.”