Macquarie Health, one of Australia's largest privately owned hospital groups, is preparing to terminate contracts with dozens of private health insurers, escalating a funding dispute that could leave hundreds of thousands of patients facing significant out-of-pocket costs or needing to seek treatment elsewhere.
The standoff, the most serious hospital–insurer conflict since Healthscope's threatened split with Bupa 18 months ago, underscores mounting tensions in the private health sector as labour shortages, wage claims and inflation push hospital costs higher.
Not-for-profit insurers belonging to the Australian Health Services Alliance warned 2.5 million members last week that contracts covering 11 Macquarie-run hospitals and mental health clinics in Sydney and Melbourne expired on March 16, potentially exposing patients to steep fees.