澳大利亚一份涵盖超过10,000项医疗器械的《处方列表》价格清单正在对私人保险患者造成沉重经济负担[1]。这份协议由时任卫生部长格雷格·亨特在2022年联邦选举前签订，锁定了1400万私人保险患者的高额支付[1]。政府文件显示，部门官员当时建议反对该协议，称其"主要惠及行业而非提供谈判平衡"[1]。
私人系统的设备价格明显高于其他地区。以2023年最受欢迎的植入式心脏除颤器为例，私人保险清单支付36,500澳元，而公立医院仅支付14,500澳元[1]。与新西兰相同产品相比，私人系统设备价格高出358%，整体而言私人医疗器械成本比公共医院高7%至358%[1]。亨特在2022年建立了7%的强制价格下限，该下限设定高于公立医院成本[1]。
近年数据显示价格压力持续加重。私人健康基金在截至2026年3月的一年内支付了2.52亿澳元购买医疗器械，增长3.2%[1]。2025年9月，Nous Group报告指出设备价格仍然"明显高于可比市场"[1]。尽管患者负担加重，私人健康保险公司在最近的财政年度产生了2.1亿澳元税后净利润，管理支出达3.4亿澳元[1]。
Australia's "Prostheses List," a price catalogue covering more than 10,000 medical devices, has locked 14 million private insurance patients into substantially inflated costs for surgical hardware [1]. The agreement was signed by then-Health Minister Greg Hunt before the 2022 federal election and established a mandatory price floor set 7% above public hospital costs [1]. Government documents reveal that departmental officials had advised against the arrangement, arguing it was "primarily beneficial to industry rather than providing balanced negotiating leverage" [1].
The pricing disparities are stark. In 2023, the most popular implantable cardiac defibrillator cost private insurance funds $36,500 compared to $14,500 in public hospitals—a markup of over 150% [1]. When measured against comparable markets, Australian patients in the private system face premiums reaching up to 358% higher than those in New Zealand for identical products [1]. Private health funds disbursed $252 million for medical devices in the year ending March 2026, representing a 3.2% increase [1]. A Nous Group report published in September 2025 found that device prices remain "notably higher than comparable markets" [1].
The arrangement has continued to benefit the industry even as private health insurance companies themselves reported a $210 million after-tax net profit in the recent financial year, with management expenses reaching $340 million [1].