Mary Henry (Independent)

I welcome the Minister and the Bill. He must be fed up with the phrase "risk equalisation" because it has been around his neck ever since he took up office in the Department. I hope that when the Bill passes speedily through the Houses, the risk equalisation regulatory framework is brought forward rapidly because it is very important. The Bill is important, not just to the nearly 50% of the population who have private health insurance but also to the Department of Health and Children because if the expense of insuring oneself with a private health insurance company becomes too high, people will fall out of the system which will make the strain on the public system even greater.

It is important to point out, however, that in many cases there is not much difference between the private and public waiting lists. In the not too distant past I tried to get appointments for patients with dermatologists and orthopaedic surgeons who specialised in back complaints and the waiting list was about the same. Recently, I had a patient who needed an abdominal scan and under the public waiting list the patient would have been seen in a shorter period. That was welcome in that case because the woman involved did not have any private health insurance. There is a myth that one is treated more quickly on the private waiting list. I am sure I am speaking to a discreet audience and that no one will tell people to drop their VHI or BUPA insurance and thereby cause even more problems for the Minister but it is a fact that there is a good deal of congestion in both areas.

We had to bring forward a framework of risk equalisation and competition in the health insurance area, although I am glad Senator Feighan mentioned the recently deceased judge, Tom O'Higgins. If any of us could say we had established an institution like Voluntary Health Insurance, which has worn so well for 40 years, we would be very pleased. I am one of those who has been both a subscriber and a patient and a doctor who was paid by it and I have found it extremely satisfactory in all aspects.