The Australian Health Service Alliance (AHSA) and Healthscope’s private hospital network have announced they have reached an in-principle agreement after several weeks of negotiation.
The agreement resolves a disagreement over funding that saw the termination of an agreement covering members of a number of private health insurers.
The new agreement that was mediated by the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman covers six insurers - Teachers Health Fund, Australian Unity, CUA Health, Reserve Bank Health Society, CBHS Corporate Health and CBHS Health Fund.
Teachers Health recently described Healthscope's decision to terminate the agreement covering its members as "irresponsible and unconscionable".
According to Brad Joyce, CEO of Teachers Health, “We’ll always fight for quality and value for our members in every negotiation and business decision, and I’m pleased a positive outcome has been reached with Healthscope.
"As a not-for-profit health fund, our focus is on providing quality and value to our members. That’s why we negotiate our contracts with hospitals, to help members access a high standard of care with minimal out-of-pocket costs.
“We’re proud to be the health fund for teachers and the education community and we’re truly inspired by the commitment and resilience they’ve demonstrated in recent months.”
The insurer said the agreement means its customers will continue to be covered at Healthscope’s 42 private hospitals across Australia.