Like all businesses, private hospitals face increasing wage and supply costs each year. In order for hospitals to remain sustainable and to continue to provide high quality care to our patients, we negotiate with insurers an annual rate of indexation to pay for these increases.
Private hospitals have faced enormous challenges through Covid protecting our patients and staff, providing appropriate PPE, increasing our cleaning, and ensuring additional infection prevention training for our staff and doctors. This has come at a significant extra cost.
Unfortunately, Bupa’s offered rate of indexation (which is well below inflation) does not address these cost increases and will require Bupa patients to pay the shortfall as an additional out-of-pocket cost.
We look forward to Bupa working with us toward a fair and sustainable agreement that removes the need for this additional out-of-pocket cost.
These challenges are not unique to Bupa patients and Ramsay’s negotiations with other health insurers have been successfully collaborative and we have reached agreement with these insurers in recent negotiations.
Providing ongoing high quality care and excellent outcomes for our patients and health fund members is our top priority and we will continue to work with health insurers to ensure this can continue. Thank you for your support.