Sydney, 5 February 2026
The ASA acknowledges the consumer research report released today by Private Healthcare Australia (PHA). Understanding and appreciating the pressures that patients are facing in healthcare is something medical specialists, such as anaesthetists, deal with every day.
Anaesthetists provide approximately 7000 episodes of care to Australians in the private healthcare system each day. Their expertise ensures high quality, safe care is provided at critical points of a patient’s life.
ASA President, Dr Vida Viliunas highlighted the preliminary results of a new ASA survey completed by approximately 1000 anaesthetists on issues including out-of-pocket costs, informed financial consent, private health insurance arrangements, patient access and equity:
“The results found that an overwhelming majority of anaesthetists use known-gap or no-gap arrangements where possible. The failure to index rebates and the cap on gap limits, makes it increasingly difficult for doctors to participate in these schemes given they fail to adequately cover the true costs of providing safe, high-quality care,”
“The survey also highlights that informed financial consent is a routine part of practice, particularly for planned admissions (elective surgery) where sufficient information is available in advance. A large majority of anaesthetists provide patients with clear information about likely fees and potential out-of-pocket costs, noting these may change depending on clinical complexity or duration.”
“According to this survey, anaesthetists report that many patients do not fully understand what their private health insurance will or will not cover, an issue outside the control of anaesthetists, whose focus remains on patient care. Importantly, anaesthetists report actively engaging with patients to waive or reduce fees where appropriate, taking into account financial hardship and patient circumstance , while maintaining a strong awareness of the impact that out-of-pocket costs have on patients in both planned and unplanned care settings.” The ASA urges PHA to build bridges between medical specialists and insurers – not deepen divides by pitching winners and losers.
The Australian healthcare system with its mix of public and private is acknowledged as world leading. Notwithstanding funding, many other related factors impact on affordability, access and equity including workforce sustainability, planning and investment, and the roles of both federal and state/territory health agencies.
“Reform of Medicare and private health insurance rebates to address out-of-pocket costs should not come at the expense of one part of the healthcare system,” Dr Viliunas stated.
The ASA will continue to work with all stakeholders, including Government, to arrive at solutions that can make the entire system sustainable for every patient who will need it.
Australian anaesthetists are highly regarded worldwide for providing high quality, exemplary care to patients and do so with great compassion and patient focus.