AMA Urges Action as Private Health Costs Continue to Rise

AMA Urges Action as Private Health Costs Continue to Rise

02 Apr 2026

To highlight the issue, the AMA released an online resource called “The gaps that create gaps”, showing how problems in the system are pushing up out-of-pocket costs for patients. The group says blaming doctors, insurers, or hospitals will not fix the real issues.

AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said the system is struggling to keep up with patient needs, with public hospitals already under pressure and long wait times for care.

The AMA is asking the government to take action by:

  • Increasing the long-frozen known-gap limit
  • Fixing the ‘no-gap’ cliff
  • Making rebates easier to understand
  • Creating a new authority to improve transparency and long-term reform

The organisation also says more needs to be done to reduce wait times in public hospitals and address the impact of the long Medicare freeze.

The AMA warns that without change, both patient access to care and the financial sustainability of healthcare providers could be at risk.

https://www.ama.com.au/

Source: Australian Medical Association (AMA)

 
 

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