Medical Technology industry supports ANAO Review of Private Health Insurance

Last year the Medical Technology of Australia (MTAA) called on the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) to be given the power to audit the books of insurers to ensure medical device price savings were passed onto consumers.

Today we learn the ANAO work plan for 2018-19 identifies reform of the Prostheses List (PL) as an area of potential assurance review.

This would examine whether the Department of Health has obtained assurance the financial benefits from the PL reforms accruing to private health insurers have been passed on to consumers in the form of premium reductions.

The Private Health Insurance industry is the beneficiary of $6 billion dollars in taxpayer subsidies every year and this spending is the 17th largest Government spending program in the Federal budget.

Ian Burgess, Chief Executive Officer of the Medical Technology Association of Australia said:

“We welcome the decision of the ANAO to consider an audit of private health to ensure they’ve passed on every dollar of the cuts to the Prostheses List."

Our industry delivered cuts of $1.1 billion from the cost of life-saving and life-changing medical devices.

Those cuts lowered the cost of private health insurance for Australian consumers and delivered the lowest premium increase in 17 years.

Recent APRA data showed Prostheses List expenditure dropped to the lowest level in over a decade to 9.8 percent of private health insurance costs.

We believe access to a full range of medical technology is the most valuable component of a private health insurance policy and we’re committed to doing what we do best – assist patients lead healthier and more productive lives.”

Media Contact: 02 9900 0600 | media@mtaa.org.au