Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in support of the Health Legislation Amendment (Improving Choice and Transparency for Private Health Consumers) Bill 2026. This bill is fundamentally about fairness. It is about making sure Australians can make informed decisions about their health care—decisions grounded in transparency, clarity and genuine choice. For too long, too many Australians have been left in the dark about the true costs of private medical treatment. This legislation changes that.

Every year, thousands of Australians receive referrals to specialists but never take them up because of cost. In 2024-25 alone, 8.6 per cent of people, more than 800,000 Australians, delayed or missed specialist care due to cost, and these costs are overwhelmingly driven by medical specialist fees. No family should be blindsided by an exorbitant bill. No Australian should have to choose between getting the care they need and paying their bills. Importantly, this legislation delivers on our election commitment to improve transparency in healthcare pricing, helping consumers make informed decisions about their health care and private health insurance.

Since 2022, specialists and insurers have been able to publish their fees on the Medical Costs Finder, but uptake has been low. Only one to two per cent of specialists and 10 per cent of insurers have provided their data. Schedule 1 of the bill fixes this by allowing government to publish fee and out-of-pocket information using existing Medicare hospital and insurer billing data. It will also include information about individual practitioners—their locations and fees and whether they participate in gap-cover arrangements, as well as information about hospitals and insurers and typical out-of-pocket costs under different arrangements. Importantly, patient privacy remains fully protected, with no patient information published.

Schedule 2 of the bill addresses another serious consumer issue: phoenixing in private health insurance. Some insurers have exploited existing rules by closing a product and reopening a nearly identical product at a higher price, avoiding ministerial scrutiny. This bill closes that loophole by requiring ministerial approval for all private health insurance products, including changes to cover key terms. It also strengthens the annual premium round with formalised timelines and a structured process for additional information.

These reforms modernise health transparency and ensure practitioners have a fair internal review process. They're practical, reasonable and necessary. They reflect the government's commitment to ensuring the private health system delivers genuine value for money and places consumers at the centre of decision-making. We don't want Australians to continue to face uncertainty about treatment costs, often during some of the most difficult times for them and their families. I want to thank constituents who have written to me or met with me, like Peter, who said on specialist fees:

The only option to see a specialist is to ring around and see how much they charge.

Peter, this bill is for you and others who, like you, have been forced to do the heavy lifting themselves. This bill strengthens consumer protection, transparency and trust. I commend the bill to the House.

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