Bupa today reassured its customers they remain fully covered under their hospital policy for admission to Healthscope hospitals until at least 20 February 2025.
Healthscope informed Bupa late yesterday that they intend to end our current three-year contract, even though it only commenced in November 2023. Despite this, there are no immediate changes to the coverage Bupa customers will receive if they attend Healthscope hospitals up to 20 February 2025 and beyond for certain treatments including maternity and oncology, and any treatments that have already started.
Bupa APAC CEO Nick Stone today said: “Since March, Bupa has worked tirelessly to engage constructively with Healthscope and negotiate amendments that they requested to our current contract.
“We are shocked and deeply disappointed by Healthscope’s action.
“They appear to be disregarding the interests of our shared patients and customers by seeking to impact their access to healthcare,” Mr Stone said.
“We are concerned that Healthscope’s actions will cause undue stress to patients and customers looking to access private healthcare at a time when we should be working together to build trust in the private health system and take pressure off hospitals and their frontline teams.”
In September, Healthscope commenced a campaign based on what Bupa strongly considers to be unfounded claims against Bupa. Last month, Healthscope announced it would attempt to charge Bupa and Australian Health Service Alliance (AHSA) members, consisting of 22 not-for-profit health funds, an additional out of pocket “Hospital Facility Fee” with no further benefit to customers.
Bupa wrote to Healthscope yesterday requesting that they immediately agree to comply with the contract and not to charge Bupa members the ‘Hospital Facility Fee’ or make representations that are misleading and deceptive as part of a public campaign.
“Bupa calls upon Healthscope to confirm that they will not be charging customers this fee and commit to working with Bupa to reach a fair, patient-centred agreement,” Mr Stone said.
Mr Stone added that Bupa continued to explore its options to ensure our customers are not placed in a disadvantaged position.
“We want our customers to know that our priority in these negotiations has been to keep healthcare costs affordable without compromising quality of care, especially when cost-of-living pressures continue to impact Australians,” Mr Stone said.
“We will always work hard to advocate for them by negotiating fair and sustainable contracts with our hospital partners, including recent agreements with other private hospitals, that strike the right balance between minimising premium increases and hospital costs.”
“We acknowledge Brookfield, Healthscope’s Canadian private equity owners, may have additional considerations to ensure the viability of their business in Australia,” Mr Stone said.
“We understand Healthscope’s actions may cause uncertainty for some of our members. We want them to know there are no immediate changes to their cover and they remain fully covered until at least February 2025 and beyond for certain treatments at Healthscope hospitals while our negotiations continue.
“This is a critical time for the private healthcare sector. Insurers and hospitals need to put aside their individual interests and work productively together, along with Government, to ensure our joint customers and patients continue to have choice and access and our private health sector remains affordable and sustainable,” Mr Stone said.
“Despite their recent actions, we remain committed to working together to reach a mutually sustainable solution that places customers and patients first.”
If our members have any concerns with their upcoming hospital admission, we encourage them to contact us or visit here. Bupa has a large network of hospital providers, and, in most cases, there are other private hospital options available to our members. Many doctors who operate in Healthscope hospitals also treat in other facilities. We would encourage our members to ask their specialists for alternative options available to them that will not result in greater out-of-pocket costs. Members can use our online ‘Find a Provider’ to find other hospitals in our network.
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Aleks Devic
Head of Media (Health Insurance) and Content
Email: aleks.devic@bupa.com.au
About Bupa Asia Pacific
Bupa is an international healthcare group which has been committed to a purpose of helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives and making a better world for more than 70 years.
Bupa Asia Pacific operates in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, supporting about 7.3 million customers through a broad range of health and care services including health insurance, aged care, dental, medical, optical and hearing services.
Employing more than 22,000 people in the region, we believe that we can make a real difference to the lives of customers through our values, purpose and the way that we deliver personalised care.
Over the past 17+ years we have invested more than AUD$36 million in partnerships and programs focused on improving health of communities across Australia.