OPINION | The Coalition’s plan to send public patients to private hospitals hinges on contract terms omitted from its announcement. Health officials should have questions.
The Coalition’s SurgerySooner pledge, announced by Opposition Leader Jess Wilson on October 4, offers public patients elective surgery in private hospitals at no cost to them.
The headline figures are $1.27 billion, 25,000 additional procedures a year, four-year contracts with more than 100 private hospitals and day surgeries, and a promise to halve a waiting list that stood at about 68,730 in June.
The Australian Private Hospitals Association called it a win-win. For the Department of Health officers who will have to make it work after November 28, it is a procurement exercise, and its success will depend on matters the announcement doesn’t address.