A single bundled bill to cover all private hospital costs, including the surgeon’s fee would be a significant step towards clearing a way through the complex, multiple bills that bedevil the private system, the Consumers Health Forum says. The single bill mechanism has been proposed in new report...

We can do much to improve our own and others’ health by applying lessons from the experiences of our society. For the good of the planet we are urged to “Think globally, act locally”. For our own health we can all benefit if we Think socially, care personally . This is a key theme of the latest...

The nations peak body for Australian healthcare consumers has welcomed the Draft Report released this week by the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Mental Health. Leanne Wells, CEO of the Consumers Health Forum of Australia said the wide-sweeping report is detailed and thoughtful, with...

The story of neglect and harm detailed in the Interim Report from the Royal Commission into Safety and Quality in Aged Care leaves the Government no choice but to take immediate remedial action the Consumers Health Forum said today. “Everyone who reads the report will be shocked at the scale of the...

Any move to extend private health insurance to cover GPs would hit the foundations of Medicare and seriously erode the universal access to primary health care valued by all Australians, the Consumers Health Forum said today. A report today that health funds are advocating extending private cover to...

Thousands of older Australians should not have to wait another 12 months to receive safe and quality care as is likely under present plans, the Consumers Health Forum said today. “There is no question that our aged care system requires urgent attention,” the CEO of Consumers Health Forum, Leanne...

Australians with chronic conditions and complex needs are less activated than their healthier counterparts which may be a contributing factor to their generally worse health outcomes a Consumers Health Forum study has found. “In October – Health Literacy Month – these findings highlight how...

The question of any further taxpayer help for private health funds requires a searching inquiry into the cost benefits of such subsidies for the whole health system, the Consumers Health Forum said today. “Many billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent on private insurance, yet we are now...

…there seemed to be no way out. I was sick and couldn’t afford to get better. I’m a victim of sexual assault resulting in a diagnosed anxiety disorder and depression. I couldn’t afford the gap payment for counselling services. A skin infection got totally out of control. I did not have the cash to...

The Consumers Health Forum of Australia recognises that climate change represents an immense threat to our health and today announces it has joined the Climate and Health Alliance. As Australia’s leading advocacy organisation on consumer health issues, the Consumers Health Forum believes it is...