Health Legislation Amendment (Improving Choice and Transparency for Private Health Consumers)

“This bill legislates wider scrutiny of premiums so consumers can be more confident in the value of their private health insurance. This bill begins to put that right by giving patients better information when making decisions about specialist care, strengthening informed financial consent, closing a loophole that has undermined confidence in private health insurance and providing stronger safeguards against unregulated charging behaviour. It builds on the Albanese Labor government's broader work to strengthen Medicare, lower health costs and make our health system fairer for all Australians to navigate. For families across Griffith, that means better information, stronger protections and even more confidence in the choices before them.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 24 June 2026

“Today I rise to support the Health Legislation Amendment (Improving Choice and Transparency for Private Health Consumers) Bill 2026, brought forward by the Minister for Health and Ageing, and I commend him for doing so. I'm so proud to be part of the Albanese Labor government as we remain resolute in our commitment to make quality health care accessible for every Australian.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“With this bill, we're going further. We're protecting consumers who are under the private health insurance system as well because that is a key part of our healthcare system. We're providing greater transparency so that patients and people who need medical care can make informed decisions in relation to their health care. I commend this bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 June 2026

“Like the member opposite who just spoke, I've also met with many constituents about the rising costs of private health care, private health insurance and seeing specialists. So I'm really pleased to stand today to support this legislation, because, like the actions that we have taken to strengthen Medicare and to breathe life back into our universal health system in communities like mine, I'm pleased that we are also reaching into this space, which is incredibly important.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“At the end of the day, that is what this is all about. It is about patients. It is about helping people get the care they need when they need it without unnecessary stress or confusion. That is something that everyone in this House should support, and I really hope those opposite get onboard and support this, because at the end of the day the people in the Hunter and the people all around Australia want to see us work together. They want an opposition that works with us in government so we can make Australia a better and fairer place. That is why this bill is so important and that is why I support this bill. I commend the bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 June 2026

“Having worked in the sector for a couple of decades, I know how important our health system underpinned by Medicare is to the quality of life we enjoy as Australians. This government is acting to ensure that the health system continues to support the health of Australians. I commend the bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“I rise to speak today on this very important bill. I support the introduction and passage of the Health Legislation Amendment (Improving Choice and Transparency for Private Health Consumers) Bill 2026. It is a very important bill when it comes to the transparency of our private health insurers. Improving transparency assists the consumer. It ensures that transparency is there, and it gives confidence in the system and confidence in the private health legislation area.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“The Health Legislation Amendment (Improving Choice and Transparency for Private Health Consumers) Bill 2026 represents the first significant step in taking action to address the impact of specialist fee charging and the consequential out-of-pocket costs for consumers. It delivers on two election commitments: to expand ministerial scrutiny of premiums to provide assurance around the cost and value of private health insurance by driving more transparency on patient medical fees and a commitment to outlaw product phoenixing. The legislation further strengthens Medicare by helping Australians find the best value when they need specialist medical advice and treatment and provides more confidence in their private health insurance by outlawing, as I said, product phoenixing. It will enable Australians to make more informed decisions about their health care and private health insurance.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 24 June 2026

“Australians should not need to be experts in item numbers, gap schedules and the fine print to protect their families. They should not discover the true cost of care only after they've had to commit to it. They should not see their insurance product re-emerge under a new name at a higher price without proper scrutiny. This bill responds to those expectations. It complements Medicare's universal foundation by improving transparency and accountability in the private system. It empowers patients with clearer, comparable information. It strengthens consumer protection by ending product phoenixing and applying consistent oversight to meaningful changes in price and value, and it further embeds fairness in our healthcare system. I commend the bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“This bill does increase transparency and it does mean costs will be findable by patients prior to their consultation or hospitalisation. It is really important that people do get that transparency so they can find out how much doctors will charge them and how much they will have to pay out of pocket. It is very important to understand that there are some procedures that we do now that weren't available in the time of the advent of Medicare. Because the rebates don't exactly fit the procedure, sometimes the costs are much higher than for the previous treatments. It is reasonable, though, that specialists make their fees available for patients.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“I rise to speak in support of the Health Legislation Amendment (Improving Choice and Transparency for Private Health Consumers) Bill 2026. There are two key purposes to this bill. Firstly, it amends the Health Insurance Act 1973 and the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 to allow the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing to publish information for consumers on medical fees charged by medical practitioners, including specialists and general practitioners, together with the likely out-of-pocket costs for their private healthcare experience. The purpose is to support greater transparency and healthcare pricing, helping consumers make informed decisions about their health care and obtain better value from private health insurers.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 24 June 2026

“We know that the cost of medical and hospital services is a key driver of health inflation for consumers, which ultimately feeds into higher out-of-pocket costs and higher private health insurance premiums. We know that fees can vary widely across specialists, even for the same procedure in the same part of Australia. And we know that this is hurting Australians. That is why we promised to address this issue, and that is why we are delivering on this promise and advocating the passing of this bill.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 June 2026

“This bill delivers on our promise to strengthen Medicare and to make private health insurance work better for those Australians who can afford to pay for it. It delivers real transparency in specialist fees, real protection against unfair premium hikes and real power for patients to make the best decisions for their families. We are fixing the $24 million—wishy washy, self-reporting, if you can be bothered—website that those opposite set up to track specialist fees. We are creating a system to ensure all healthcare providers and insurers are held accountable and act in the best interests of patients. We want to remove bill shock when it comes to health care. We want the light to shine in; the cost of health care should not be a mystery. We also need to ensure that our private and public health systems work together to continue to deliver the best health care in the world. I love this bill and I commend this bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“In wrapping up, this legislation is good legislation. It provides information out there in the marketplace that people will access, and ultimately that will reduce the cost of health services for people who need them throughout this country. I commend the legislation to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 June 2026

“This bill will close that loophole. It will outlaw the practice of product phoenixing, ensuring that insurers cannot bypass government oversight by gaming the system with technical restructures and product relaunches. If a premium increase is not approved, insurers will not be able to simply repackage the product and impose it anyway. This reform strengthens consumer protection, and it sends a clear message: transparency and fairness are not optional in Australia's health system. Labor believes that, whether you rely solely on Medicare or choose to take out private cover, you deserve honesty, accountability and respect. This bill delivers exactly that. By increasing transparency in pricing and expanding consumer protections, we are making sure the healthcare system continues to work for all Australians.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“This bill is about restoring confidence and fairness to that system. It aims to give patients clearer information and a fairer deal when they use private health care. It does that in two main ways: by fixing how specialist fees and out-of-pocket costs are published, and by tightening oversight of private health insurance premiums so insurers cannot dodge scrutiny through 'product phoenixing'.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“In conclusion, this bill is a clear-eyed response to the cost-of-living pressures that are facing Australians. It empowers patients with data on specialist fees, protects consumers from corporate trickery and reinforces our longstanding commitment to a Medicare system that is strong and fair. I commend the bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 24 June 2026

“Again, this sits very much with the philosophy of this government, which is about real change—about actually making an impact where it needs to be made and not resting on our laurels. I commend the bill on the basis that this is going to fix this problem. It is going to save insurers from themselves, and it is going to mean that Australian consumers can get the insurance that they need at the cost that is fair and reasonable.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 24 June 2026

“I rise today to speak in support of the Health Legislation Amendment (Improving Choice and Transparency for Private Health Consumers) Bill 2026. This bill is fundamentally about fairness. It is about making sure Australians can make informed decisions about their health care—decisions grounded in transparency, clarity and genuine choice. For too long, too many Australians have been left in the dark about the true costs of private medical treatment. This legislation changes that.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“At its core, this legislation delivers on the Albanese government's commitment to strengthen Medicare while ensuring Australians who engage with the private health system are better informed, better protected and better supported. This reform is about giving Australians the information they need and closing the loopholes that undermine confidence in the system. Australians should not need to be health experts or to do hours of research to understand what they're being charged. They should not be left guessing about out-of-pocket costs or whether their insurance policy will actually deliver when they need it most. This bill is about fixing that. It is about enabling Australians to make informed decisions about their health care and their private health insurance.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“While I support this bill, I call on the minister to go further. Implement the necessary mechanisms to ensure health insurers pay their fair share by mandating a return to 90 per cent benefit ratios from annual premiums. I also urge the minister, for the sake of Australians, to seriously consider the need for a mandatory code of conduct in contracting between private health insurers and private hospitals.”

National Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“The coalition supports ensuring greater transparency in healthcare pricing and the need to help consumers make informed decisions about their health care and obtain better value from private health insurance. To ensure we preserve Australia's private health system, the coalition believes the legislation requires careful scrutiny through a Senate inquiry. Labor's reckless spending and economic mismanagement is pushing up costs across the board, and health care is another victim of that.”

National Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“We're not opposing this bill. We are doing what an opposition should do. We're insisting that legislation affecting 15 million Australians and the clinicians who serve them is properly designed before it becomes law. The government has had more than a year to work out the details of this policy. The fact that so many fundamental questions remain unanswered is not good enough. The coalition will strive to make this bill better.”

Liberal National Party • MP • 24 June 2026

“The second change to which I referred broadly aligns with the current process for premium changes for existing products while enlarging ministerial oversight of premium setting of new private health insurance products. The change is attempting to address the risk of product phoenixing, where an existing insurance product can be closed and an identical or similar new product then opened at a higher premium, skirting and getting around the requirement for premium change approval. The coalition is not going to stand in the way of this, because what we want to see is people being able to access help, certainly in regional areas. Particularly at the moment, as the member for Mallee outlined, there are so many people who cannot access their health diagnosis. They cannot get to their doctors' appointments at the practice or the surgery simply because they can't afford to pay for the fuel—that's if they could even fill up their tank, because, at the moment, we've got a crisis.”

National Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“Australians deserve choice, quality and timely access to health care. The coalition support greater transparency and a strong private health system because we know that leads to better outcomes for our public hospitals and all Australian patients. However, changes to the regulation of private health insurance and specialists must be carefully examined to avoid unintended consequences for consumers, patients and the broader health system. For that reason, while the coalition will support this bill in the House we believe it must be subject to further scrutiny through a Senate inquiry. This inquiry must investigate the spiralling out-of-pocket healthcare costs being overseen by this government, which this bill will not address. It is time for the Prime Minister to stop waving around his Medicare card and start addressing the rising affordability issues facing Australian patients because of his government's economic mismanagement.”

Liberal Party • MP • 25 Mar 2026

“These are sensible measures, and I'll support them, but they must be seen as the beginning, not the end, of the work that needs to be done. The government's argument for the bill is that informed consumers make better decisions. That's true, but information alone can cut both ways. When price information is published without context, we know that some providers simply increase their fees to match the market rate, and there's a persistent perception among some patients that a higher fee must mean higher quality care. Unless people can access better information about clinical outcomes, complication rates, readmission and wait times, we risk reinforcing this false choice. That's the last thing households facing cost-of-living pressures need. We must monitor, in real time, what happens after this information goes live. Are median fees rising? Are prices clustering at the top of the range? Are patients gravitating to higher priced practitioners without any evidence of better care? If so, the government must be ready to act, whether through enhanced quality reporting or targeted intervention.”

Independent • MP • 25 Mar 2026