Private Health Insurance: A Private Industry Begs Government For More of Our Money To Make Them More Profitable
The Private Health Insurance industry has suggested that the Federal Government should give more money to support a profit driven inefficient private health industry. Dr Tim Woodruff, President of the Doctors Reform Society asks "Why not just support the public health system better rather than giving tax rebates for employers to give private health insurance to employees?"
Of course the PHI industry is in trouble. It's trying to follow the United States model of health care which is now seeing declining life expectancy and increasing infant mortality because of its emphasis on privatisation, including having employers pay for employees PHI. It's a disaster.
Why does the PHI industry want these changes? To get more taxpayer support for themselves to make more profits. The majority of Australians don't have PHI because it's a bad product.
It's not time to give yet more money to support a private industry. Indeed it's time we had a Productivity Commission assessment of the value of any taxpayer support for PHI.
Dr Tim Woodruff Dr Con Costa
