Numerous lockdowns and elective surgery bans during the COVID-19 pandemic have extended patients’ waiting time for public elective surgeries, leaving patients across Australia to fund their procedures.
Consumers Health Forum of Australia chief executive Leanne Wells said a survey of over 100 health consumers found that nearly one in four Australians had either self-financed a procedure or knew someone who had. In 80% of the cases, the patients used their savings to pay for their procedure, with most of the cases considered urgent or major surgeries.
“It’s starting to emerge as a sort of reasonably attractive option,” Wells said, as reported by ABC. “There’s an increasing appetite because people are continuing to see the poor value of private health insurance.”
The survey further revealed that some patients went to extremes to fund their procedures, including taking from their superannuation funds.
“Others are drawing on savings, others may take out loans, others look at [pay-later] arrangements,” Wells said. “Others look at instalment arrangements with [hospitals], and others are seeking out providers who are offering a bundled set of treatments for a fixed price.”
Rosalie Viney, health economist at the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation, said self-funding makes economic sense for some patients.
“If we take typical private health insurance for a family, it might be around $700 a month, or nearly $8,500 a year,” she said, as reported by ABC. “If you put it aside, that would mean that you probably have the money available to pay for the procedures.”
However, Private Healthcare Australia, the Australian private health insurance industry’s peak representative body, warned that the practice is risky.
“It is not a suitable model for anyone with a chronic illness or anyone that might need expensive follow-up care as a result of likely complications of surgery,” said Dr Rachel David, CEO of Private Healthcare Australia, as reported by ABC. “The other problem is a lot of people really underestimate the costs of surgery.”
With private hospitals doing nearly two-thirds of elective surgeries in Australia, Private Healthcare Australia claimed that increasing insurance membership might shorten the waiting times on public lists. However, it highlighted underinsurance in the sector, with premiums rising by around 4.5% on average annually for the past decade.
“The next health minister, whatever party they come from, is going to need to address that issue to take the pressure off public hospitals,” David said.
