Bupa shocked at Healthscope unfairly charging members a new $100 out of pocket fee

Healthscope today announced it will charge Bupa members a new “hospital facility fee” of up to $100 per visit from 26 November 2024 as an additional out of pocket charge with no benefit to our members. 

Given our ongoing and regular engagement with Healthscope throughout this year, we are shocked and disappointed that Healthscope has made this decision. This is an unprecedented and unfair move by Healthscope. Everyday Australians should not be caught in the middle and penalised as a result of contract negotiations, particularly at a time when many are battling a higher cost of living. 

We have reminded Healthscope of their contractual obligations under our current three-year agreement which is designed to give patients certainty when they are at their most vulnerable seeking medical treatment. Bupa is committed to protecting its members and is actively considering all its options with respect to Healthscope proposing to unfairly charge our members. 

Our members come first. We will always advocate for their best interests by negotiating fair, mutually beneficial and sustainable contracts with our hospital partners. We have demonstrated this by successfully renewing contracts with a number of other private hospital operators this year. 

Bupa has continued to negotiate in good faith with Healthscope on amendments to commercial terms they have proposed to our existing agreement which runs until late 2026 to support the viability of their business. To date, Healthscope has refused all reasonable offers. This includes the most recent offer we made last week which was also rejected. Unfortunately, the increase Healthscope has been seeking is not sustainable nor appropriate, the impacts of which has the potential to flow-on to higher health insurance premiums for our customers. 

Given our ongoing willingness to work with Healthscope and the offers and initiatives we have proposed so far, it appears as if Healthscope has no intention of reaching a sustainable deal for the best interests of our mutual customers. Instead, they have opted to spend money on a public scare campaign designed to unsettle patients, and on-charging Bupa patients as well as the members of 29 other health funds who are seeking to receive care in a Healthscope hospital. 

Based on our long-standing relationship with Healthscope our priority remains to work with them to reach a new agreement that balances the needs of hospitals, while keeping health insurance affordable for our customers. 

We understand Healthscope’s decision may cause uncertainty for some of our members. We want our members who will be going to a Healthscope hospital post 26 November to know that they have the right to review any additional out of pocket fees, including the proposed additional hospital facility fee, as part of the informed financial consent sought by Healthscope prior to their admission. We urge our members to seek more information from Healthscope in order to make an informed decision about the costs they may incur during a visit or stay at a Healthscope hospital. 

If our members have any concerns with their upcoming hospital admission, we encourage them to contact us. Bupa has a large network of hospital providers, and, in most cases, there are other private hospital options available to our members where there will not be an additional Healthscope out of pocket fee. Members can use our online ‘Find a Provider’ to find other hospitals in our network.