House debates

Wednesday, 14 February 2007

Private Health Insurance Bill 2006; Private Health Insurance (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Bill 2006; Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing Fees) Bill 2006; Private Health Insurance (Collapsed Organization Levy) Amendment Bill 2006; Private Health Insurance Complaints Levy Amendment Bill 2006; Private Health Insurance (Council Administration Levy) Amendment Bill 2006; Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Amendment Bill 2006

Second Reading

Debate resumed from 8 February, on motion by Mr Abbott:

That this bill be now read a second time.

upon which Ms Roxon moved by way of amendment:

That all words after “That” be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: “whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House notes that:

(1)
while the expansion of private health insurance to coverage of services provided outside of hospital will have benefits for the 44% of Australians who have private health insurance, it will not provide access to the same kinds of services to the majority of Australians who don’t have private health insurance;
(2)
the expansion of private health insurance to cover a broader range of services will likely lead to further increases in private health insurance premiums;
(3)
the Bill pays scant attention to safety and quality issues for services provided under the rubric of Broader Health Cover;
(4)
the Bill does not include sufficient protections for the freedom of doctors to make clinical decisions about the treatment/s that will be in the best interests of their patients in relation to services provided under the rubric of Broader Health Cover; and
(5)
the $50 million the Howard Government provided to the private health insurance industry in the last budget to advertise their products is a waste of taxpayers’ money and an appalling use of scarce health resources”.

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