In a move which has both shocked and angered the Australian public, private health fund provider Medibank Private has put a new contract together for private hospitals which states their fund will not pay any costs incurred if a mother dies during childbirth.

The news of these proposed changes has come to light after Medibank Private put the new contract terms to a Canberra based Catholic health group, Calvary Health Care.

The proposal has been labelled “offensive” by Professor Brian Owler – the President of the Australian Medical Association.  Professor Owler also said “If someone thinks that a financial incentive will motivate doctors, nurses or anyone else in a hospital to prevent maternal death any more than they desire to do so now, then they have no idea of medicine or the people in it.”

Given the average cost of having a baby in a private hospital is on average $8,500 this move could leave grief stricken fathers and family left with a huge bill they have no way of paying.

Medibank Private has responded by stating they are “Not afraid to say that we ant to see preventable events eliminated from the healthcare system and one of the ways we seek to do this is through our contracts.”  They go on to state: “While we are currently negotiating it’s inclusion in our contract with Calvary Health Care, we understand it is a common industry practice not to pay for this event… on the rare and highly regrettable occasion that it does occur, it is not uncommon for hospitals to waive a charge to private health insurers,”  and say this clause “has been an inclusion in the contracts Medibank has agreed with hospitals for some time.”

This move comes in addition to 165 procedures and medical conditions Medibank Private has already said they will refuse to pay as they consider them to be easily preventable due to hospital mistakes, as well as not paying if a person was to be readmitted to hospital within 28 days of being discharged.

The health care group at the the centre of the current negotiations has said it is refusing to sign the contract stating it “won’t be bullied with non-negotiable ultimatums by insurers with a large presence in the market”.  Calvary Health Care have expressed their concerns that the many seriously ill patients including those diagnosed with terminal diseases could be caught out thanks to these proposed changes and be forced back into the public health system.

What do you think?