How to solve the crisis in private maternity?
The AMA’s maternity forum, held as part of an AMA Council of Private Specialist Practice meeting, was attended by AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen, AMA Vice President Associate Professor Julian Rait, and representatives of key specialties involved in private maternity care.
On Saturday, 7 June, the AMA held a maternity forum to discuss solutions to the crisis in private maternity services which has seen at least 14 private maternity units close over the past five years.
This has left many communities, and most particularly those outside major metropolitan areas, with no local access to private maternity service — even if they have the appropriate level of private health cover to access those services. Finding solutions to ensure the sustainability of private maternity care is critical, with projections suggesting if nothing changes by 2030 there will be too few private births to keep remaining private maternity units open.
The AMA’s maternity forum, held as part of an AMA Council of Private Specialist Practice meeting, was attended by AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen, AMA Vice President Associate Professor Julian Rait, and stakeholders in attendance included clinicians from the specialties of obstetrics, anaesthesia and paediatrics, and representatives of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) and the National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (NASOG).
Private Healthcare Australia, the peak body representing for-profit private health insurers presented a proposal for changes to the way insurers fund private maternity care. This was followed by presentations from Ramsay Health Care, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, and the Clinical Network Director of Maternal, Neonatal and Women’s Health at Northern Sydney Local Health District, and speakers from relevant specialties.
Participants from the medical profession then worked to develop a set of draft principles to guide the development of maternity funding models into the future. These key principles will be finalised based on feedback received, and will inform AMA policy development going forward.
