Media releases

Health consumers have shown overwhelmingly that they want a health insurance system they can understand, value and trust, the Consumers Health Forum says. “The MyCover plan for simpler, easily comparable health fund policies proposed by the Consumers Health Forum has drawn 94 per cent support in a...

The finding that 61 tests and treatments common in Australia may be unnecessary or even harmful highlights the need for health consumers to feel confident in asking their health practitioners about their care, says the Consumers Health Forum of Australia. “Health care needs to be a partnership...

The benefits to Australia’s public health and wellbeing from alcohol tax reform far outweigh the concerns posed by the wine industry, the Consumers Health Forum says. “Research by the Word Health Organisation and other international experts has found that increasing alcohol taxes can reduce harmful...

The time is ripe for Australia to adopt more effective measures to prevent and treat chronic and complex disease in the community through reforms that would save lives and many millions of dollars, a new report from the Grattan Institute has shown. “Our greatest health challenge in Australia –...

The new measures to accelerate roll-out of the My Health Record, the national electronic health records system, is an important step forward for Australia’s health, the Consumers Health Forum said today. The Chief Executive Officer of the Consumers Health Forum, Leanne Wells, said that the trials...

Suggestions that the Health Minister wants to deploy the $6 billion health insurance rebate to drive a better deal for consumers represent an exciting breakthrough in Government thinking, says the Consumers Health Forum. The Consumers Health Forum welcomes the comments by the Minister, Sussan Ley,...

Health insurance premiums on average will rise next month by more than three times the CPI inflation rate --- making private health cover that much harder to afford for many people, the Consumers Health Forum says. “This latest increase highlights the pressing need for fundamental reform of health...

The latest rise in out of pocket costs that private patients pay is yet more evidence of the need for serious reform in health insurance, the Consumers Health Forum says. The chart below, based on Australian Prudential Regulation Authority figures, highlights the graphic rise in the private health...

Patients would be spared the threatened co-payment for pathology, and taxpayers could save hundreds of millions if the lucrative pathology industry were subject to much-needed market-based reforms, a new report shows. “This significant report from the Grattan Institute shines a fresh light on the...

Consumers stand to benefit significantly if health funds pass on to their members savings generated by reform to the inflated pricing of medical devices, the Consumers Health Forum said today. “We welcome the Government’s planned reforms of prosthesis pricing to end a system which has generated...