Australia’s private maternity hospitals face collapse without major reforms to combat the soaring costs of running the services for a shrinking pool of women, who pay thousands in out-of-pocket fees and increasingly unaffordable health insurance. Source: The Age.
Operators say insurers must include maternity in lower policy tiers, after several private maternity hospitals shut, pushing more women into the overburdened public system.
The situation is symptomatic of the crisis afflicting the $22 billion private hospital sector – now the subject of an urgent federal Government review – driven by soaring workforce costs, as well as electricity and medico-legal bills.
Gino Pecoraro, president of the National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said the “collapse of private obstetrics will have a huge flow-on effect”.
One in four women gives birth in a private maternity hospital. Dr Pecoraro said any substantial contraction of the private sector would put intense pressure on public hospitals.
A recent Catholic Health Australia report compiled by PwC warned of “complete service failure” of maternity services without a radical overhaul.
At least 10 private maternity hospitals have closed in NSW, Queensland, WA, Victoria, and Tasmania since 2017, largely due to workforce shortages. Five of those closed in 2023.
The failure of NIB and St Vincent’s Australia to negotiate a new funding agreement means the insurer’s 1.3 million members will be barred from using their top-tier cover at any of the 10 not-for-profit private hospitals, including The Mater in Sydney.
NIB says negotiations with St Vincent’s are ongoing, despite the group giving notice they would terminate their agreement earlier this month.
FULL STORY
Painful contraction for private maternity hospitals (By Kate Aubusson, The Age)
