Hospitals tap into insured patients

Thousands more patients at Perth's public hospitals are admitted as private cases, enticed by incentives such as specialist doctors, no out-of-pocket expenses and free visitors' meals.

It also earned the Health Department more than $102 million last financial year, 10 per cent more than private patient revenue in 2011-12.

Almost half of those admitted to Perth's main adult tertiary hospitals who had private health cover were billed privately - amounting to almost 24,000 patients at Royal Perth, Sir Charles Gairdner and Fremantle hospitals.

Despite moves over many years, public hospitals have struggled to attract private patients because people feared out-of-pocket expenses.

But many hospitals now employ liaison officers to sell the benefits of going private, including no-gap payments and free television rental, newspapers, parking and phone calls.

Shadow health minister Roger Cook said cash-strapped hospitals were turning to health insurance to prop up struggling budgets.

He said the extra income was welcome but insured patients should not be put ahead of public patients. He was also concerned hospitals were not billing for all private work done in public hospitals after the Auditor-General highlighted the lack of Health Department controls to bill fully for private work.

Australian Medical Association WA president Richard Choong said getting people to use their health insurance was reasonable if they were not pressured to use it and if public patients were not disadvantaged.

Acting health director-general Bryant Stokes said access to public hospitals was determined on clinical need, not insurance.

He said insured patients were encouraged to use it for public hospital services because the funds would help deliver and improve services.