'No amount of money' could have saved Healthscope during 2024 private health insurance attack, Rachel David declares
There was 'no amount of money' that could have saved Healthscope as it was waging war against private health insurers in 2024, a leader in the medical industry has declared.
Healthscope was forced into receivership on Monday after the debt-laden hospital operator was handed from its Canadian owners Brookfield to its lenders earlier this month.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia has issued the company a $100m lifeline to ensure all of Healthscope's hospitals will remain open and operate as usual.
The collapse follows Healthscope launching an aggressive advertising campaign in 2024 to allege private health insurers were not paying their fair share to fund private hospitals.
Private Healthcare Australia's CEO Rachel David on Tuesday hit back at Healthscope when questioned about the operator's campaign on Sky News' Business Now.
'There is no amount of money that health funds or the government could have thrown at Healthscope at that point which would have made up for the terrible business decisions made by Brookfield,' Ms David said on Tuesday.
She singled out Healthscope's $5.7b sale, which was regarded as overvalued, in 2019 to Brookfield and the decision to sell 22 hospitals for $2.5b to foreign investors before leasing them back to the operator for high rents.
'In a situation like that, there is no amount of money that health funds could have put their hands on that would have resulted in a different outcome,' Ms David said.
'We have to be mindful that … consumers have got to be able to afford their premiums.
'The advertising campaign was a misstep, but now that we're in a situation where new owners can take over ... myself and the private health insurance industry is incredibly optimistic that the private hospital sector will come through this and be able to deliver much more modern and attractive models of care for our patients.'
Healthscope faced troubles during the pandemic when patients halted their elective surgeries, leading to major downturns for private hospitals.
The uptick in at-home treatment, which was bolstered by private health insurers, also came as a sting to Healthscope as lengthy hospital visits became less necessary.
The company has also been marred with controversies, including the death of a two-year-old boy last September, a cancer patient having the wrong side of his colon removed in 2019 and the death of a 17-year-old boy suffering from anaphylaxis in 2021.
Healthscope's CEO Tino La Spina told reporters on Monday he is confident there will be a buyer to take over the business.
'I think we're confident that there is interest in taking the Healthscope business as a whole. We have 10 non-binding indicative offers,' Mr La Spina said.
'Some are for the whole (business) and others potentially could include the whole (business) under certain circumstances. That is the focus.'
Health Minister Mark Butler said Labor will not bail out the embattled healthcare company amid its financial troubles.
'We remain steadfast in our view that an orderly sales process that maintains the integrity of the entire hospital group will provide the best outcome for patients, staff, landlords and lenders,' Mr Butler said.
However, he did stress the hospitals operated by Healthscope 'remain a critical part of our healthcare system'.
'The government does not want any of these important assets to be put in jeopardy to satisfy international investors,' Mr Butler said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
19 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Trump cuts off trade talks with Canada over digital tax
US President Donald Trump has abruptly cut off trade talks with Canada over its tax targeting US technology firms, calling it a "blatant attack" and saying that he would set a new tariff rate on Canadian goods within the next week. The move plunges US relations with its second-largest trading partner back into chaos after a period of relative calm. It also came just hours after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent struck an upbeat tone on trade, touting progress had been made with China on reviving the flow of critical minerals for the US manufacturing sector and in other key tariff negotiations. The often-chaotic rollout of Trump's import levies since his return to office this year have frequently whipsawed financial markets, and have begun to weigh on consumer spending, the bedrock of the US economy. US stocks were briefly batted lower by his broadside against Canada but managed to close out the week at record highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Trump's action comes ahead of Canada's plans to begin collecting on Monday a longstanding digital services tax on US technology firms including Amazon, Meta, Alphabet's Google and Apple among others. The tax is 3.0 per cent of the digital services revenue a firm takes in from Canadian users above $US20 million ($A31 million) in a calendar year, and payments will be retroactive to 2022. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social media platform, called the tax "a direct and blatant attack on our country" and said Canada was a "very difficult country to TRADE with". "Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately," Trump said. "We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period." Canada is the second-largest US trading partner after Mexico, buying $US349.4 billion of US goods last year and exporting $US412.7 billion to the US, according to US Census Bureau data. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had said on June 16 he and Trump agreed to try to wrap up a new economic and security deal within 30 days. "The Canadian government will continue to engage in these complex negotiations with the United States in the best interests of Canadian workers and businesses," Carney's office said in a statement. Earlier on Friday, Bessent said the Trump administration's various trade deals with other countries could be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday, citing talks with 18 top trade partners and another revision to a deal with China to reopen the flow of rare earth minerals and magnets. The United States sent a new proposal to the European Union on Thursday and India sent a delegation to Washington DC for more talks. "So we have countries approaching us with very good deals," Bessent said on Fox Business Network. "We have 18 important trading partners. ... If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day," Bessent said. He did not mention any changes to a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher but has previously said that countries negotiating in good faith could get deals. But Trump told reporters at the White House that he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter," adding that within the next week and a half, he would notify countries of their tariff rates. "I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: Congratulations. You're paying 25 per cent" tariffs, Trump said in an apparent joke. Bessent said the United States and China had resolved issues surrounding shipments of Chinese rare earth minerals and magnets to the US, further modifying a deal reached in May in Geneva. China's commerce ministry said on Friday the two countries have confirmed details on the framework of implementing the Geneva trade talks consensus. It said China will approve export applications of controlled items in accordance with the law. It did not mention rare earths. US President Donald Trump has abruptly cut off trade talks with Canada over its tax targeting US technology firms, calling it a "blatant attack" and saying that he would set a new tariff rate on Canadian goods within the next week. The move plunges US relations with its second-largest trading partner back into chaos after a period of relative calm. It also came just hours after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent struck an upbeat tone on trade, touting progress had been made with China on reviving the flow of critical minerals for the US manufacturing sector and in other key tariff negotiations. The often-chaotic rollout of Trump's import levies since his return to office this year have frequently whipsawed financial markets, and have begun to weigh on consumer spending, the bedrock of the US economy. US stocks were briefly batted lower by his broadside against Canada but managed to close out the week at record highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Trump's action comes ahead of Canada's plans to begin collecting on Monday a longstanding digital services tax on US technology firms including Amazon, Meta, Alphabet's Google and Apple among others. The tax is 3.0 per cent of the digital services revenue a firm takes in from Canadian users above $US20 million ($A31 million) in a calendar year, and payments will be retroactive to 2022. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social media platform, called the tax "a direct and blatant attack on our country" and said Canada was a "very difficult country to TRADE with". "Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately," Trump said. "We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period." Canada is the second-largest US trading partner after Mexico, buying $US349.4 billion of US goods last year and exporting $US412.7 billion to the US, according to US Census Bureau data. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had said on June 16 he and Trump agreed to try to wrap up a new economic and security deal within 30 days. "The Canadian government will continue to engage in these complex negotiations with the United States in the best interests of Canadian workers and businesses," Carney's office said in a statement. Earlier on Friday, Bessent said the Trump administration's various trade deals with other countries could be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday, citing talks with 18 top trade partners and another revision to a deal with China to reopen the flow of rare earth minerals and magnets. The United States sent a new proposal to the European Union on Thursday and India sent a delegation to Washington DC for more talks. "So we have countries approaching us with very good deals," Bessent said on Fox Business Network. "We have 18 important trading partners. ... If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day," Bessent said. He did not mention any changes to a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher but has previously said that countries negotiating in good faith could get deals. But Trump told reporters at the White House that he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter," adding that within the next week and a half, he would notify countries of their tariff rates. "I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: Congratulations. You're paying 25 per cent" tariffs, Trump said in an apparent joke. Bessent said the United States and China had resolved issues surrounding shipments of Chinese rare earth minerals and magnets to the US, further modifying a deal reached in May in Geneva. China's commerce ministry said on Friday the two countries have confirmed details on the framework of implementing the Geneva trade talks consensus. It said China will approve export applications of controlled items in accordance with the law. It did not mention rare earths. US President Donald Trump has abruptly cut off trade talks with Canada over its tax targeting US technology firms, calling it a "blatant attack" and saying that he would set a new tariff rate on Canadian goods within the next week. The move plunges US relations with its second-largest trading partner back into chaos after a period of relative calm. It also came just hours after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent struck an upbeat tone on trade, touting progress had been made with China on reviving the flow of critical minerals for the US manufacturing sector and in other key tariff negotiations. The often-chaotic rollout of Trump's import levies since his return to office this year have frequently whipsawed financial markets, and have begun to weigh on consumer spending, the bedrock of the US economy. US stocks were briefly batted lower by his broadside against Canada but managed to close out the week at record highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Trump's action comes ahead of Canada's plans to begin collecting on Monday a longstanding digital services tax on US technology firms including Amazon, Meta, Alphabet's Google and Apple among others. The tax is 3.0 per cent of the digital services revenue a firm takes in from Canadian users above $US20 million ($A31 million) in a calendar year, and payments will be retroactive to 2022. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social media platform, called the tax "a direct and blatant attack on our country" and said Canada was a "very difficult country to TRADE with". "Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately," Trump said. "We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period." Canada is the second-largest US trading partner after Mexico, buying $US349.4 billion of US goods last year and exporting $US412.7 billion to the US, according to US Census Bureau data. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had said on June 16 he and Trump agreed to try to wrap up a new economic and security deal within 30 days. "The Canadian government will continue to engage in these complex negotiations with the United States in the best interests of Canadian workers and businesses," Carney's office said in a statement. Earlier on Friday, Bessent said the Trump administration's various trade deals with other countries could be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday, citing talks with 18 top trade partners and another revision to a deal with China to reopen the flow of rare earth minerals and magnets. The United States sent a new proposal to the European Union on Thursday and India sent a delegation to Washington DC for more talks. "So we have countries approaching us with very good deals," Bessent said on Fox Business Network. "We have 18 important trading partners. ... If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day," Bessent said. He did not mention any changes to a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher but has previously said that countries negotiating in good faith could get deals. But Trump told reporters at the White House that he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter," adding that within the next week and a half, he would notify countries of their tariff rates. "I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: Congratulations. You're paying 25 per cent" tariffs, Trump said in an apparent joke. Bessent said the United States and China had resolved issues surrounding shipments of Chinese rare earth minerals and magnets to the US, further modifying a deal reached in May in Geneva. China's commerce ministry said on Friday the two countries have confirmed details on the framework of implementing the Geneva trade talks consensus. It said China will approve export applications of controlled items in accordance with the law. It did not mention rare earths. US President Donald Trump has abruptly cut off trade talks with Canada over its tax targeting US technology firms, calling it a "blatant attack" and saying that he would set a new tariff rate on Canadian goods within the next week. The move plunges US relations with its second-largest trading partner back into chaos after a period of relative calm. It also came just hours after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent struck an upbeat tone on trade, touting progress had been made with China on reviving the flow of critical minerals for the US manufacturing sector and in other key tariff negotiations. The often-chaotic rollout of Trump's import levies since his return to office this year have frequently whipsawed financial markets, and have begun to weigh on consumer spending, the bedrock of the US economy. US stocks were briefly batted lower by his broadside against Canada but managed to close out the week at record highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Trump's action comes ahead of Canada's plans to begin collecting on Monday a longstanding digital services tax on US technology firms including Amazon, Meta, Alphabet's Google and Apple among others. The tax is 3.0 per cent of the digital services revenue a firm takes in from Canadian users above $US20 million ($A31 million) in a calendar year, and payments will be retroactive to 2022. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social media platform, called the tax "a direct and blatant attack on our country" and said Canada was a "very difficult country to TRADE with". "Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately," Trump said. "We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period." Canada is the second-largest US trading partner after Mexico, buying $US349.4 billion of US goods last year and exporting $US412.7 billion to the US, according to US Census Bureau data. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had said on June 16 he and Trump agreed to try to wrap up a new economic and security deal within 30 days. "The Canadian government will continue to engage in these complex negotiations with the United States in the best interests of Canadian workers and businesses," Carney's office said in a statement. Earlier on Friday, Bessent said the Trump administration's various trade deals with other countries could be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday, citing talks with 18 top trade partners and another revision to a deal with China to reopen the flow of rare earth minerals and magnets. The United States sent a new proposal to the European Union on Thursday and India sent a delegation to Washington DC for more talks. "So we have countries approaching us with very good deals," Bessent said on Fox Business Network. "We have 18 important trading partners. ... If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day," Bessent said. He did not mention any changes to a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher but has previously said that countries negotiating in good faith could get deals. But Trump told reporters at the White House that he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter," adding that within the next week and a half, he would notify countries of their tariff rates. "I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: Congratulations. You're paying 25 per cent" tariffs, Trump said in an apparent joke. Bessent said the United States and China had resolved issues surrounding shipments of Chinese rare earth minerals and magnets to the US, further modifying a deal reached in May in Geneva. China's commerce ministry said on Friday the two countries have confirmed details on the framework of implementing the Geneva trade talks consensus. It said China will approve export applications of controlled items in accordance with the law. It did not mention rare earths.
Sky News AU
a day ago
- Sky News AU
‘Egregious': Trump cancels trade talks with Canada over digital tax
US President Donald Trump has announced that he is cancelling any trade talks with Canada. The President made the decision in response to a digital services tax imposed by Canada. Mr Trump announced the decision on Truth Social, labelling the tax 'egregious' and stating he would issue new tariff rates on Canadian goods within the next week.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump terminates trade talks with Canada over tax on digital companies
Washington: US President Donald Trump said he would immediately cease trade negotiations with Canada and decide on a tariff rate within seven days after being informed Canada would proceed with a 'digital services tax' that applies to American tech companies. The announcement marks a resumption of hostilities between the two North American neighbours after their relationship improved under the leadership of Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, a former banker elected in late April who struck a chord with Trump. It also underlines the Trump administration's deep distaste for measures it regards as discriminatory imposts on American tech giants, such as Australia's News Bargaining Code. The policy charges Google, Meta and others for their use of media content, and has been a point of contention in trade talks between Canberra and Washington. Canada confirmed a week ago that it would proceed with its digital services tax as passed by parliament despite ongoing negotiations with the US. It is a 3 per cent levy on revenue earned from Canadian users and will apply to companies such as Amazon, Uber and Airbnb, along with the aforementioned firms. The levy, due to start June 30, will apply retroactively to January 2022, with US companies facing a $U2 billion ($3.1 billion) bill, according to Canadian newswire The Canadian Press. It applies to companies that produce Canadian revenue above $20 million Canadian dollars a year and global revenue above 750 million Euros. The previous US administration under Joe Biden also took issue with the planned tax. Trump called Canada 'a very difficult country to trade with' and labelled the digital services tax 'a direct and blatant attack on our country'. 'They are obviously copying the European Union, which has done the same thing, and is currently under discussion with us,' he posted on Truth Social. 'Based on this egregious tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately. We will let Canada know the tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven-day period.'
