Sean Barrett (Independent)

I welcome the announcement that the Minister will convene a forum with health insurers to address the issue of the excessive price increases they seek. He is quoted as saying that in some cases he feels 4% would be adequate while some of the companies are claiming as much as 25%. Last week we referred to our wish that the regulation of the health insurance sector should be moved to the Central Bank.

I refer also to the issues in the Milliman report. I know the Leader will ask the Minister to come to the House to discuss some of the matters in that, such as keeping people for inpatient medical treatment for 10.6 days when 3.7 is recommended and keeping people for 7.5 days for surgical inpatient admissions when it should also be 3.7. It indicates that up to 10% of people are being admitted to hospitals without due cause and perfectly healthy young people are being admitted for tests and being detained overnight. There are many issues that need to be teased out. I know the Leader has asked the Minister to come to the House to discuss them. Will the Leader convey to the Minister that these talks with the insurance companies are welcome and long overdue? We hope the Milliman report will be circulated to Senators without having had the important parts redacted as the copy circulated last week had. Many Senators on the Government side had important points to make about the excessive cost of health insurance. I welcome the Minister's initiative and ask the Leader to convey my request to the Minister.