Doctors and patients caught in fight between ‘big-profit’ Bupa and private hospital ‘bullies’
A new battle has erupted over the decision by Healthscope to charge Bupa customers $100 gap fees for overnight hospital stays.
Yet another skirmish in the private hospital versus private health fund wars erupted this week.
This one was triggered by Healthscope’s decision to start charging customers of Bupa and Australian Health Service Alliance a $100 gap fee for overnight hospital stays and $50 for same-day patients per admission.
The reason cited was simple: neither was paying enough for the care the private hospital operator was being asked to provide.
“Shocked and disappointed” was the response from Bupa, declaring that Healthscope had “refused all reasonable offers” during their contract negotiations.
