The Australian Society of Ophthalmologists (ASO) says Bupa customers should consider their options before 1 September as dramatic policy changes, deemed by the Commonwealth Ombudsman to have been ‘poorly communicated’, leave them with no choice but to consider their private health insurance options.
ASO President Dr Peter Sumich said Bupa had so far failed in its duty to communicate clearly with its customers. “I have been left confused by Bupa’s recent policy announcements and re-announcements. What hope does the average consumer have to figure this mess out? It breeds distrust and public anger with the private medical system,” Dr Sumich said. “It seems that BUPA is playing a game of ‘cat and mouse’ with health consumers and providers,” he said.
As a result of the changes, more than 700,000 Bupa customers who hold minimum benefit policies will lose significant benefits after 1 September. The lost benefits would appear to significantly disadvantage older policyholders. Meanwhile, 1.4 million Bupa customers will have new restrictions placed on their choice of hospital (and as a consequence their choice of doctor). “The unfortunate punchline here is: Over a million Bupa customers now have a pressing deadline (1 Sept) to figure out what these changes mean in the real world and either upgrade their policy coverage with BUPA or switch to another health insurer who can give them the full range of choices,” Dr Sumich said. Gap cover to emergency patients in public facilities is to be reinstated which is a small victory but only a partial concession.
