Private Healthcare Australia is bringing together industry experts to discuss the affordability, participation and value of private health insurance at a one-day conference on 23 November.
The conference, to be held at the Crown Promenade in Melbourne, has the theme 'Securing the Future of Private Health: Affordability, Participation, Value'.
PHA chief executive Dr Rachel David said the conference coincided with the reforms recently announced by health minister Greg Hunt. Many of the conference speakers made a contribution to developing the reforms and will play a major role in their implementation
According to Dr David, the conference will showcase the best of the Australian healthcare industry and promote discussions on concepts and solutions to ensure the sustainability of private healthcare in Australia.
The conference will comprise a number of panel sessions seeking to address key PHI reform issues:
- Affordability – bending the input cost curve. Research shows 84 per cent of Australians with private health insurance value the product and want to keep it. Affordability is their primary concern. There are 13.5 million Australians with private health insurance and almost half of them have an annual income of less than $50,000. Dr Jeff Harmer, chair of the Private Health Ministerial Advisory Committee and a former senior bureaucrat, will be joined by representatives of health funds and health economists to explore the impact of the reforms on affordability.
- Participation – winning the hearts and minds of Millennials. Younger Australians will be joined by market research and health fund experts to discuss their experiences with private health insurance and the effect the government’s new Lifetime Health Cover discount.
- Value – maximising value through transparency and customer focus. Co-Chair of the National Mental Health Commission Lucy Brogden, industry experts and specialists will discuss the value proposition of PHI, and recent reforms including the mental health safety net for people with low-cost policies who are unexpectedly admitted to hospital for a serious mental health condition.
- Industry panel – Working together to deliver affordability, participation and value. Key stakeholders including the AMA, Ramsay Healthcare, along with the Member for Goldstein, Tim Wilson, will discuss consumer expectations and how sectors can cooperate to keep private health sustainable and keep pressure off the public hospital system.
More information on the conference, including registration, is available online.