Members of Australia's second largest private health insurer won't have to fork out additional costs for treatment at Wollongong's two private hospital's, according to Ramsay Health Care and Bupa Australia.
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An agreement was finally reached between Ramsay, which runs which owns Wollongong and Figtree private hospitals, and Bupa Australia on Friday, after ongoing disputes over a new contract.
The deal, reached after Ramsay terminated its contract with Bupa on August 2, comes after more than a week of negotiations to avoid Bupa customers paying potentially hundreds of dollars in out of pocket costs if they were treated at a Ramsay-owned facility.
The companies announced in a joint statement that their stalemate ended and they had agreed on key terms of a three-year contract.
It is expected the key terms of the agreement will be finalised in the next two weeks, and a new contract will be entered into before October.
"This means Bupa members won't have to pay any additional out of pocket expenses when they attend a Ramsay hospital from October 2022," a statement from the companies said.
The companies said the agreement "finds a balance between the challenges faced by hospital operators in the current environment", while recognising the cost of living and affordability challenges for health insurance customers.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
