Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This Labor government, in contrast to the mutineers on the other side, is working with the states and territories to turn around our public health system. We are totally committed to the public health system and Medicare, something that the others are not. We are investing an additional $1 billion over the next 12 months through the Australian healthcare agreements and an additional $600 million for those on elective surgery waiting lists. That is part of a broader $3.2 billion investment in health and hospitals in this year’s budget aimed at improving the quality of our hospitals and at keeping people well and out of hospital.

Those on the other side really are having a lend when they attack us for funding health. I ask: what did they think the impact would be when they sliced around $1 billion out of our hospitals budget in 2003? We are the party that believe in looking after the health of all Australians, not just those who can afford it, and in doing what we can to take pressure off working families.

I have read the concerns from insurers about growing outlays. It is not unusual to hear these concerns, and it is not surprising that health businesses would bring this to the fore in protecting their turf and their market share. The truth is I cannot remember ever having heard insurers say outlays might be normal in any one calendar year. But the fact is that outlays paid by insurers have decreased over the past decade from around 87 per cent to 82 per cent, which is a drop of five per cent. I have not heard that fact widely disseminated in the media by the industry recently. Realistically, while the participation rate may be lower in the short term, this also results in lower benefit outlays for the insurers.

The underlying growth in private health insurance coverage over the next four years is expected to more than account for the loss in coverage from the surcharge threshold increase. While benefits paid are a significant contributor to private health insurance premiums, the amount of benefits paid does not give the whole picture of the financial position of the insurer and the ongoing need for premium increases. For example, it does not take into account investment income, management expenses, contribution income and membership growth. It is important when making decisions to take into account the complete picture, and that is what our government has done.

It is very important that decisions are made on facts not flummery, and in this debate we have had a lot of flummery. Here is just one example. We have recently had two different estimates from the AHIA chief executive, Michael Armitage, of the number of people who will opt out of private health insurance. The estimates came a week apart. One said 400,000 and the other said 900,000. That is a margin of error of 125 per cent. I note that one of these estimates came from research by the well-known firm Crosby Textor. Let us hope they do not allow this margin of error in their election polling for the Liberal Party, or maybe that is the explanation for the debacle when the Liberals took their policies to the Australian people last year. Of course, there are other reports on the private health insurance industry impacts, a number of which greatly undercut and discredit the opposition’s fearmongering and exaggerated assertions on this issue.

We absolutely support the private health insurance rebates; we always said we did. We want to give people incentives to take out private health insurance, not whack them with a big tax slug when they cannot afford it. Labor is committed to decent health care for all Australians. In addition to our other commitments to health and hospitals, including an additional $1 billion for hospitals this year, we have committed to: up to $600 million to clear elective surgery waiting lists; another $780 million for dental health; $275 million for GP superclinics; and the establishment of a Health and Hospitals Fund, which demonstrates the government’s commitment in partnership with state and territory governments to equipping Australia’s health and hospital system for the future. Labor is a party of more investment in health care. The Liberals are a party that loathe Medicare. For years they tried to axe it. They would still like to do it, and they would do it only that Medicare is incredibly popular with Australians. Labor is the party that brought in universal health care and a system to which the rest of the world looks as a model.

See this speech in context