Mr Stone said Bupa looked forward to\u00a0more\u00a0detail\u00a0on the\u00a0consultations\u00a0proposed by the Government for\u00a0further\u00a0reforms to improve the private healthcare system.\u00a0We\u00a0want to work\u00a0with the Government\u00a0to invest\u00a0in\u00a0and\u00a0improve the\u00a0private health system to\u00a0ensure it is\u00a0modern, relevant, and sustainable for all Australians, for now, and into the\u00a0future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Removing PHI rebates for Australians aged 65 and above\u00a0
\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a business that provides care to\u00a0older\u00a0Australians, we share Private Healthcare Australia\u2019s concerns\u00a0that removing rebates for Australians aged 65 and above may have unintended consequences\u00a0for\u00a0participation\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0overall\u00a0sustainability of the system,\u00a0particularly\u00a0as\u00a0our public system\u00a0remains\u00a0under pressure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reform should focus on strengthening the sustainability of private health insurance by improving affordability and accessibility for all Australians, regardless of age.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Supporting access to care through Urgent Care Clinics\u00a0
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bupa welcomed the Government\u2019s commitment to invest $1.8 billion over five years to\u00a0help make Medicare Urgent Care Clinics a permanent part of Australia\u2019s health system.\u00a0Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are an important part of the broader healthcare system, helping to\u00a0triage and\u00a0treat non-emergency conditions outside hospital emergency departments, improving patient\u00a0flow\u00a0and allowing hospitals to focus on more acute and complex care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Stone said:\u00a0\u201cMedicare\u00a0Urgent\u00a0Care\u00a0Clinics\u00a0play a critical role in ensuring people can access the care they need, when they need it, and in the right setting.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an operator of a growing number of Medicare Urgent Care Clinics around Australia, Bupa is proud to partner with Government to support communities around Australia to ensure people can get the right care at the right time, while relieving pressure on local hospital emergency departments.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Building capacity in aged care\u00a0
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Stone said the Government\u2019s continued focus on strengthening the aged care sector, which includes\u00a0greater flexibility in how room prices are set\u00a0and\u00a0a $606.5 million investment to deliver more\u00a0residential aged care\u00a0beds,\u00a0was an important step towards meeting the growing demand of an ageing population but more needed to be done.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs one of Australia\u2019s largest aged care providers,\u00a0we\u00a0know we\u00a0need to support the sustainable growth of residential care capacity as without this, older Australians, especially those in regional Australia, will not be able to access care when and where they need it most,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look forward to working closely with\u00a0Government and\u00a0industry\u00a0partners\u00a0to help deliver the\u00a0services\u00a0and support\u00a0required to allow the\u00a0sustainable growth\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0sector.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Continuing to support veterans and their families\u00a0
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0additional\u00a0$583.4 million to implement recommendations from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, along with $169.7 million for allied health services for veterans, is a positive step towards improving access to support services for veterans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reviewing specialist fees\u00a0
\u00a0<\/p>\n
We welcome the\u00a0Federal\u00a0Government\u2019s review\u00a0of\u00a0specialist fees\u00a0which will\u00a0enhance\u00a0transparency for patients, supporting improved financial literacy, and promoting greater choice,\u00a0access\u00a0and affordability in healthcare. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with the medical community to ensure these goals are achieved in a balanced and effective manner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mr Stone said Bupa looked forward to\u00a0more\u00a0detail\u00a0on the\u00a0consultations\u00a0proposed by the Government for\u00a0further\u00a0reforms to improve the private healthcare system.\u00a0We\u00a0want…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665997,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,306558,23191,44,27643,25758,306557],"class_list":["post-665996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bupa-hi","tag-health-insurance","tag-news","tag-release","tag-statement","tag-statements"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}