Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I just want to respond to Senator Scullion. It won't benefit you because you'll have spent a fortune and got nothing out of it. It won't benefit you because you will have spent money for a product that covers the same range of services that you should be able to get under a well-funded public health system. Senator Scullion, your logic is that, instead of being 40 or 50 grand out of pocket, you'll only be 30 or 40 grand out of pocket and that somehow that represents a savings. I think that says more about your understanding of economics than it says about mine. The reality is that, for most young people in this country, taking out private health insurance is a bad economic option. Sure, private health insurance allows you to have the doctor of your choosing; that is true. But, in a market like health care where people don't have a clear understanding of what the options are and the benefits they get from that, that's actually a false choice. It may allow you to be bumped up a waiting list and have a procedure done earlier than you otherwise would. But, again, for young people those procedures are few and far between.

Ultimately, if we were to invest the subsidies that go towards private health into our public health system, that wouldn't be a choice that would even be worth considering, because everybody in this country would be able to have the surgery they need. Whether it's having a hip replaced, the dental care they need or an elective procedure, they would be able to have it done within a reasonable time frame within our public system. But that choice is taken away from people when we divert close to $30 billion over the forward estimates into a system that delivers no value for patients. But, gee, it delivers value for shareholders of those private health insurance companies!

No, this is the wrong way for any decent society to go when it comes to providing health care. We know from international experience that the most efficient model is the one where there is a single universal insurer, funded through taxes, providing health care to everybody when and where they need it. We've got that here in Australia. It's called Medicare. Let's fund it properly rather than starving it and lining the pockets of big corporations.