RamsayHealthCare logo

Ramsay Newsroom

Coffs Harbour locals urged to understand their chosen health cover to avoid unexpected out-of-pocket costs

June 29, 2022

Coffs Harbour members with Bupa health insurance are being urged to ensure they are not hit with unexpected out-of-pocket expenses when accessing Baringa Private Hospital in the future.

Bupa’s contract with Ramsay Health Care, which operates Baringa Private Hospital, is set to end on 2 August 2022. Bupa is also yet to agree to a contract with the brand-new, purpose-built Ramsay Surgical Centre Coffs Harbour. The centre, which opened on Albany Street in April, is currently providing Ophthalmology and Endoscopy services. 

Baringa Private Hospital CEO, Jo Brown, said while health staff have been working tirelessly during the Covid pandemic to care for the community, the parties have been unable to reach an agreement that will cover the increasing wage and supply costs needed to ensure ongoing quality patient care. 

“Unfortunately, we’ve not been able to reach a new agreement with Bupa and our current contract will end in just over a month,” Ms Brown said.

“During the pandemic, our nurses have worked hard to look after the Coffs Harbour community and continue to provide excellent patient care

Staff at Baringa Private Hospital have worked around the clock to protect our patients from exposure to Covid, especially the most vulnerable people in our community. 

We have provided PPE, increased our cleaning, and delivered additional infection prevention training to our staff. This increase in vigilance and ensuring patient safety comes at a significant cost.

Unfortunately, the new offer Bupa has put forward is well below inflation and well below what our staff deserve in terms of wage increases. Any agreement between Bupa and Ramsay must address the significant cost increases hospitals have been experiencing to protect our patients and health care workers. 

“In the meantime, private health insurers accumulated $2 billion in profits.

“Unless a new agreement can be reached with Bupa by 2 August, Bupa patients accessing Baringa Private Hospital may be required to pay the shortfall for treatment costs as an additional out-of-pocket expense.

Bupa patients wanting to access Baringa Private Hospital may like to consider reviewing their private health insurance to ensure they know what they’re covered for.

“It’s worth noting that Baringa Private Hospital has agreements with all other private health insurers in Australia.

By law, consumers changing funds won’t have to re-serve the normal waiting periods again if retaining the same level of hospital cover. More information is available in the Ombudsman’s Right to Change brochure: bit.ly/RightToChange2022

Ramsay Health Care is committed to continuing to work toward a fair and sustainable agreement with Bupa that removes the need for additional out-of-pocket costs to be passed on to patients. If an agreement is not reached, Ramsay’s contract with Bupa will end on 2 August 2022.

Ramsay operates two facilities in Coffs Harbour: Baringa Private Hospital, and the new Ramsay Surgical Centre Coffs Harbour. 

More information is available at www.protectyourcover.com.au.

Ramsay Health Care

This email address is for media requests only. For all other enquiries, please contact our hospitals or clinics directly. Alternatively, please email: contactcentre.rhc@ramsayhealth.com.au

Stay up to date