Ramsay Health Care, which operates the two hospitals, says its contract with the health insurer ended on Tuesday, August 2.
In a statement, Ramsay said it had been unable to reach agreement on “key elements of a new contract”, including the indexation rate, which enabled private hospitals to cover increased costs in patient care.
“Since Bupa’s indexation rate will not cover the cost of care for its members in Ramsay hospitals, additional out-of-pocket costs will soon apply to Bupa-insured patients,” Wangaratta and Shepparton private hospitals chief executive Rhys Jones said.
“We’re committed to continuing to provide quality care for our patients, including the ageing communities here in the north-east, but this isn’t possible without appropriate agreements in place with health insurers.
“Hospitals have faced enormous challenges through COVID, protecting our patients and staff, providing appropriate PPE, increasing our cleaning and ensuring additional infection prevention training for our staff and doctors. This increase in vigilance and ensuring patient safety comes at a significant cost.”
Mr Jones said Bupa-insured patients could avoid paying additional out-of-pocket costs by changing health funds.
“Ramsay has agreements with all other private health funds in Australia, where this additional out-of-pocket cost won’t apply,” he said.
“We know, that like us, members of our community are facing increasing cost-of-living pressures right now, so we want local Bupa members to be informed about the situation, so they can review their health cover now and work out what is best for them.”
Bupa has moved to reassure its members that they remain “fully covered and can continue to access a no-gap experience on admission to Ramsay Health Care hospitals until at least (Saturday) October 1”.
“We are continuing our discussions with Ramsay and are hopeful of reaching an agreement soon,” Bupa health insurance managing director Chris Carroll said.
“We want our members to know that our first priority in our negotiations with Ramsay has been to keep healthcare costs affordable, especially when cost-of-living pressures continue to impact families.”
Bupa said that although Ramsay ended its current contract with the insurer on August 2, there were no immediate changes to the coverage for Bupa members.
It said Bupa members “remain fully covered” at Ramsay hospitals until at least October 1, with some treatments, “including maternity and oncology, and any treatments already commenced, covered up to August 2023”.
“We want to move beyond this impasse and are continuing our efforts to reach an agreement that benefits our members and addresses healthcare costs,” Mr Carroll said.
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