HCF says recent media reports that suggest its members will be out of pocket an additional $320 per night if they use their private health insurance for a single room stay in a NSW or ACT public hospital are not correct.
The insurer said NSW Health has assured it that, “No NSW public hospital will charge patients an out of pocket amount for a private patient accommodated in a single room”.
“We know that affordability of private insurance is a major challenge so we are doing all we can to help address this issue for our members. One way to achieve this is to ensure we are not paying excessive fees for services and to ensure equitable arrangements exist for all members,” said HCF CEO, Sheena Jack.
“Every dollar extra that we pay for a service that we shouldn’t be paying – like the higher fee in this case – is a dollar we have to recoup through premium increases for all members,” continued Ms Jack.
HCF said the rate it pays for public hospital single rooms in NSW and ACT is now "exactly" what it pays for public hospital single rooms in all other Australian States and Territories.
“As Australia’s largest not-for-profit health fund, we have committed that 100% of the savings from this action will go back to members in the form of lower premium increases,” added Ms Jack.