scholarly journals Impact on public hospitals if private health insurance rates in Victoria declined

2004 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian W T Hanning
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Health Insurance ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Income Loss ◽  
The Public ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Recurrent Cost ◽  
Insurance Rates

The additional cost of treating acute care type Victorian private patients as public patients in Victorian public hospitals based on the current public sector payment model and rates was calculated, as was the loss of health fund income to public hospitals. If all private cases became public the net recurrent cost would be $1.05 billion assuming all patients were still treated. If private health insurance (PHI) uptake had declined to 23.3% as was projected without Lifetime Health Cover and the 30% rebate, the additional operating cost and income loss would be $385 million. This compares to the Victorian cost of the 30% rebate for acute hospital cases of $383 million. This takes no account of capital costs and possible public sector access problems. The analysis suggests that 31 extra operating theatres would be needed in the public sector (had the transfer of surgical patients from the public sector to the private sector not occurred). This analysis suggests that without the PHI rebate the current stresses on Victorian public hospitals would be increased, not decreased.

scholarly journals Private health insurance and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme: how effective has recent government policy been?

2004 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff R J Richardson ◽  
Leonie Segal
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Private Health Insurance ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Common Element ◽  
Cost Shifting ◽  
The Public ◽  
Pharmaceutical Expenditures ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

The cost to government of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is rising at over 10 percent per annum. The government subsidy to Private Health Insurance (PHI) is about $2.4 billion and rising. Despite this, the queues facing public patients ? which were the primary justification for the assistance to PHI ? do not appear to be shortening. Against this backdrop, we seek to evaluate recent policies. It is shown that the reason commonly given for the support of PHI ? the need to preserve the market share of private hospitals and relieve pressure upon public hospitals ? is based upon a factually incorrect analysis of the hospital sector in the last decade. It is similarly true that the ?problem? of rising pharmaceutical expenditures has been exaggerated. The common element in both sets of policies is that they result in cost shifting from the public to the private purse and have little to do with the quality or quantity of health services.

scholarly journals Has the increase in private health insurance uptake affected the Victorian public hospital surgical waiting list?

2002 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Hanning
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Uptake Rate ◽  
Public Hospital ◽  
Private Health Insurance ◽  
Elective Surgery ◽  
Waiting List ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
The Public

It was anticipated that increased uptake of Private Health Insurance (PHI) would reduce demand on public sector surgical waiting lists. The best measure of changed demand is the comparison of the actual cases added to that projected given previous trends in PHI uptake. Detailed Victorian data is available up to 2000-1.The total waiting list has varied little, reflecting significant decreases in both in patients added to and removed. There was a marked increase in private sector elective surgery cases coinciding with the fall in additions to the public sector waiting list and in public sector elective surgical cases. The June 2001 Victorian surgical waiting list would have been 69,599 not 41,838 if the PHI uptake rate had continued to fall in line with pre-1999 trends, and that of June 2002 about 100,000 compared to 40,458 in March 2002.Limited data from other states suggests the Victorian trends are representative of all Australia.

scholarly journals Availability, prices, and affordability of selected essential cancer medicines in a middle-income country – the case of Mexico

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Moye-Holz ◽  
Margaret Ewen ◽  
Anahi Dreser ◽  
Sergio Bautista-Arredondo ◽  
Rene Soria-Saucedo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
World Health ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Public ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Public And Private Sector

Abstract Background: More alternatives have become available for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in low- and middle-income countries. Because of increasing demands, governments are now facing a problem of limited affordability and availability of essential cancer medicines. Yet, precise information about the access to these medicines is limited, and the methodology is not very well developed. Objective: To assess the availability and affordability of essential cancer medicines in Mexico, and compare their prices against those in other countries of the region. Methods: We surveyed 21 public hospitals and 19 private pharmacies in 8 states of Mexico. Data were collected on the availability and prices of 49 essential cancer medicines. Prices were compared against those in Chile, Peru, Brazil, Colombia and PAHO’s Strategic Fund. Results: Of the various medicines, mean availability in public and private sector outlets was 61.2% and 67.5%, respectively. In the public sector, medicines covered by the public health insurance “People’s Health Insurance” were more available. Only seven (public sector) and five (private sector) out of the 49 medicines were considered affordable. Public sector procurement prices were 41% lower than in other countries of the region. Conclusions: The availability of essential cancer medicines, in the public and private sector, falls below World Health Organization’s 80% target. The affordability remains suboptimal as well. A national health insurance scheme could serve as a mechanism to improve access to cancer medicines in the public sector. Comprehensive pricing policies are warranted to improve the affordability of cancer medicines in the private sector.

scholarly journals Availability, Prices and Affordability of Selected Essential Cancer Medicines in a Middle-Income Country: The Case of Mexico

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement 2) ◽  
pp. 220s-220s
Author(s):  
D. Moye Holz ◽  
M. Ewen ◽  
A. Dreser ◽  
S. Bautista ◽  
R. Soria ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Public ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Public And Private Sector ◽  
Dose Form

Background: More alternatives are becoming available for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in low- and middle-income countries. Yet, because of increasing demands, many governments are now facing the dilemma of making essential cancer medicines available to all while keeping them affordable. Precise information about current access to these medicines is limited, and there's no systematic methodology in place to do so. Aim: To assess the availability and affordability of essential cancer medicines in Mexico, and compare their prices (public sector procurement and patient prices) against those in other countries of the region. Methods: We adapted the WHO/HAI methodology. We surveyed 21 public hospitals and 19 private pharmacies in 8 states of Mexico. Data were collected on the availability and prices of 49 essential cancer medicines (each strength and dose-form specific). Prices were compared against those in Chile, Peru, Brazil, Colombia and PAHO's Strategic Fund. Results: Of the various medicines, mean availability in public and private sector outlets was 61.2% and 67.5%, respectively. In the public sector, medicines covered by the public health insurance “People's Health Insurance” (SPS) were slightly more available. Only 7 (public sector) and 5 (private sector) out of 49 medicines were deemed affordable. Overall, public sector procurement prices were 41% lower than in other countries of the region. Conclusion: The availability of essential cancer medicines, in the public and private sector, falls below WHO's 80% target. The affordability remains suboptimal as well. A national health insurance scheme could serve as a mechanism to improve access to cancer medicines in the public sector. Comprehensive pricing policies are warranted to improve the affordability of cancer medicines in the private sector.

scholarly journals Availability, prices, and affordability of selected essential cancer medicines in a middle-income country – the case of Mexico

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Moye-Holz ◽  
Margaret Ewen ◽  
Anahi Dreser ◽  
Sergio Bautista-Arredondo ◽  
Rene Soria-Saucedo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
World Health ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Public ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Public And Private Sector

Abstract Background: More alternatives have become available for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in low- and middle-income countries. Because of increasing demands, governments are now facing a problem of limited affordability and availability of essential cancer medicines. Yet, precise information about the access to these medicines is limited, and the methodology is not very well developed. Objective: To assess the availability and affordability of essential cancer medicines in Mexico, and compare their prices against those in other countries of the region. Methods: We surveyed 21 public hospitals and 19 private pharmacies in 8 states of Mexico. Data were collected on the availability and prices of 49 essential cancer medicines. Prices were compared against those in Chile, Peru, Brazil, Colombia and PAHO’s Strategic Fund. Results: Of the various medicines, mean availability in public and private sector outlets was 61.2% and 67.5%, respectively. In the public sector, medicines covered by the public health insurance “People’s Health Insurance” were more available. Only seven (public sector) and five (private sector) out of the 49 medicines were considered affordable. Public sector procurement prices were 41% lower than in other countries of the region. Conclusions: The availability of essential cancer medicines, in the public and private sector, falls below World Health Organization’s 80% target. The affordability remains suboptimal as well. A national health insurance scheme could serve as a mechanism to improve access to cancer medicines in the public sector. Comprehensive pricing policies are warranted to improve the affordability of cancer medicines in the private sector.

scholarly journals Effects of increased private health insurance on hospital utilisation in Victoria

2004 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijaya Sundararajan ◽  
Kaye Brown ◽  
Toni Henderson ◽  
Don Hindle
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Private Health Insurance ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Private Hospitals ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Hospital Utilisation ◽  
Two Sectors

The proportion of Victorians and Australians generally with private health insurance (PHI) increased from 31% in 1998 to 45% in 2001. We analysed a dataset containing all hospital separations throughout Victoria to determine whether changes in the level of private health insurance have had any impact on patterns of public and private hospital utilisation in Victoria. Total utilisation of private hospitals grew by 31% from 1998?99 to 2002?03, whereas utilisation of public hospitals increased by 18%. Total bed-days have increased in both private hospitals and public hospitals by 12%. The proportion of all separations at private hospitals has remained relatively stable between these 2 years, with 33% of all separations being private patients in private hospitals in 1998? 99, increasing slightly to 35% by 2002?03. Analysis of a number of specific DRGs shows that patients with more severe disease are more likely to be seen at public hospitals; notably this trend has strengthened between 1998?99 and 2002?03. The number of patients treated in Victorian public hospitals has continued to grow, despite a rapid increase in the utilisation of private hospitals. Given the limited extent of the shift in caseload share between the two sectors, the effectiveness of the Commonwealth?s subsidy of private health insurance as a mechanism to reduce pressure on the public sector needs to be carefully examined.

scholarly journals Detailed cost of robotic-assisted surgery in the Australian public health sector: from implementation to a multi-specialty caseload

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate McBride ◽  
Daniel Steffens ◽  
Christina Stanislaus ◽  
Michael Solomon ◽  
Teresa Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Fixed Costs ◽  
Tertiary Referral Hospital ◽  
Robotic Assisted ◽  
The Public ◽  
Robotic Assisted Surgery ◽  
Specific Implementation ◽  
Theatre Utilisation

Abstract Background A barrier to the uptake of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) continues to be the perceived high costs. A lack of detailed costing information has made it difficult for public hospitals in particular to determine whether use of the technology is justified. This study aims to provide a detailed description of the patient episode costs and the contribution of RAS specific costs for multiple specialties in the public sector. Methods A retrospective descriptive costing review of all RAS cases undertaken at a large public tertiary referral hospital in Sydney, Australia from August 2016 to December 2018 was completed. This included RAS cases within benign gynaecology, cardiothoracic, colorectal and urology, with the total costs described utilizing various inpatient costing data, and RAS specific implementation, maintenance and consumable costs. Results Of 211 RAS patients, substantial variation was found between specialties with the overall median cost per patient being $19,269 (Interquartile range (IQR): $15,445 to $32,199). The RAS specific costs were $8828 (46%) made up of fixed costs including $4691 (24%) implementation and $2290 (12%) maintenance, both of which are volume dependent; and $1848 (10%) RAS consumable costs. This was in the context of 37% robotic theatre utilisation. Conclusions There is considerable variation across surgical specialties for the cost of RAS. It is important to highlight the different cost components and drivers associated with a RAS program including its dependence on volume and how it fits within funding systems in the public sector.

Impact of a Private Health Insurance Mandate on Public Sector Autism Service Use in Pennsylvania

2012 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
pp. 771-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley D. Stein ◽  
Mark J. Sorbero ◽  
Upasna Goswami ◽  
James Schuster ◽  
Douglas L. Leslie
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Health Insurance ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Insurance Mandate
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