Private health holds less value for rural consumers

Image: Nils Versemann / Shutterstock.com

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By Rhiannon Riches
Assistant Editor

Rural consumers do not receive the same value from private health services as their urban counterparts due to lack of services, according to Health Minister Sussan Ley.

Improving the value of private health services for rural and remote residents was a key topic of discussion when the Private Health Ministerial Advisory Committee met on 7 December 2016 in Canberra.

A representative of Allied Health Professionals Australia on the advisory committee represented Optometry Australia’s views at the meeting. Optometry Australia had previously met with the representative and made a number of points to be conveyed to the advisory committee.

According to a summary of the meeting held on 7 December, the  advisory committee discussed the issue of policy restrictions including ‘public hospital only’ products and the perceived value of these products for some consumers, for example, people living in rural areas without ready access to private hospitals.

The committee noted that a workshop for improving the value of private health services for rural and remote consumers was to have been held on 12 December 2016. 

The committee will receive comment from the workshop at its next meeting, scheduled for 1 February.