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The second meeting for 2008 was held in Melbourne on 15 May with a dinner on the preceding evening in honour of the recently retired CEO of the Private Health Insurance Administration Council (PHIAC), Gayle Ginnane.
The meeting was addressed by the Acting CEO of PHIAC, Mr Paul Groenewegen, the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health and Ageing ( DoHA ), Ms Veronica Hancock and the newly appointed Private Health Insurance Ombudsman (PHIO), Ms Samantha Gavel. All speakers gave overviews of current issues being addressed by PHIAC, DoHA and the PHIO respectively. Rob Seljak, CEO of Teacher's Union Health, provided an update on the work of the Code of Conduct Compliance Committee.
Mr David Williams of Discovery Research also presented the findings of the 2008 customer satisfaction survey. As part of HIRMAA's commitment to providing affordable and value-for-money policies and services, HIRMAA funds participate in an annual customer satisfaction survey. In summary:
The key findings of the 2008 research are:
HIRMAA funds are committed to continuing this customer satisfaction research to ensure that the consumer value proposition is integral to the provision of private health insurance products by HIRMAA funds.
The first meeting for 2008 was held in Wollongong on 6 March and hosted by Lysaght Peoplecare. The meeting was preceded by a dinner in honour of the recently retired chairman of Peoplecare, Mr Cec Ainsworth. Cec had served on the Lysaght Peoplecare board for 46 years, including 34 years as chairman.
The meeting was addressed by the Hon Neil Batt AO, Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Health Research. Mr Batt gave a summary of the work of the Centre and suggested a better utilization of the Centre's findings. The meeting was also addressed by the new Chairman of the Australian Health Service Alliance, Mr Vyn Tozer, who spoke about the strategic direction of the Alliance . In addition to these presentations, HIRMAA was very pleased to host the Acting PHIO, Samantha Gavel, and the Assistant Secretary of the DoHA , Veronica Hancock. Finally, Mr David Torrance, Managing Director of KPMG Actuaries Pty Ltd, offered an overview of the many challenges facing the private health insurance industry.
The Wollongong meeting also served as the Annual Meeting of the Association. All office-bearers were re-elected and the Executive Committee was joined by Mr Keith Stockall, CEO of CBHS Health.
The final meeting for 2007 was held at the Sebel Heritage in the Yarra Valley, east of Melbourne.
The meeting was addressed by Veronica Hancock, Assistant Secretary of DoHA regarding issues associated with the new legislation, particularly re-registration. The meeting was also addressed by Gayle Ginnane, CEO of PHIAC also regarding the re-registration process. The Acting PHIO, Samantha Gavel, spoke about issues relating to product information and the PHIO website.
The meeting was also addressed by Mr John Brogden, CEO of Manchester Unity and Chairman of Abacus. Mr Brogden addressed the meeting on the topic of demutualization in the health insurance sector and associated issues.
The meeting also paid tribute to the outstanding service of Chief Superintendent Fred Trueman who had recently retired as Chairman of Police Health. The meeting recorded Fred's outstanding contribution to Police Health over many years and to his steadfast commitment to HIRMAA.
The third meeting for 2007 was held in Brisbane on Thursday 30 August.
The meeting was addressed by Ms Veronica Hancock, Assistant Secretary of the DoHA regarding the new legislative regime. Also addressing the meeting were the CEO of PHIAC regarding the re-registration process and requirements and the Acting Ombudsman regarding product information and the PHIO website.
Dr Bill Glasson, Chairman of the ministerial Promoting Private Health Group, addressed the meeting on the issues associated with Informed Financial Consent. Finally, the meeting was addressed by Mr Norman Branson, Chairman of the Private Health Insurance Code of Conduct Implementation Committee.
The second HIRMAA meeting for 2007 was held in Melbourne on 2 and 3 May with all fifteen funds represented. The first day was devoted to an examination and analysis of the results of the 2007 HIRMAA customer satisfaction survey. In summary :
The key findings of the research are :
Ninety eight percent (98%) of members are satisfied with their health fund membership;
Ninety four percent (94%) are satisfied with the level of communication from funds;
Ninety seven percent (97%) are satisfied with funds' telephone responsiveness;
Ninety five percent (95%) are satisfied with written service (mail, fax or email) from their funds; and,
Ninety five percent (95%) are satisfied with the speed of claim payments.
At the following day's meeting, a written summary of the survey's findings were presented to the keynote speaker, the Hon Tony Abbott MP, Minister for Health & Ageing. The Minister was congratulated for his unequivocal support for private health insurance and for the restricted and regional funds.
In addition to the address by the Minister, HIRMAA funds were addressed by the Chief Executive Officer of the PHIAC, the Deputy Secretary of the Department of the DoHA and the Acting Private Health Insurance Ombudsman. All three speakers addressed the meeting on the requirements and responsibilities established by the recently enacted Private Health Insurance Act 2007 and associated legislation. Finally, Wayne Cahill of Blake Dawson Waldron gave a detailed presentation on the legal requirements established by the new Act.
The meeting was advised that at the HIRMAA Executive meeting on the preceding day, John Rashleigh (Navy Health) and Michael Bassingthwaighte (Peoplecare) were re-elected as President and Vice-President respectively.
The first HIRMAA meeting for 2007 was held in Sydney on 1 and 2 March. The first day was devoted to a seminar on corporate governance, facilitated by Jane Walton of Henderson Walton Consulting Pty Ltd. Over 60 delegates from HIRMAA funds, including all CEOs, most Board chairs and many Board directors attended the full day seminar at the Reserve Bank. The seminar was chaired by HIRMAA President, John Rashleigh, and also attended by Gayle Ginnane, CEO of PHIAC.
Issues covered on the day included:
The following day was both the annual and quarterly meetings of HIRMAA funds. The annual meeting was advised of the unopposed election of the HIRMAA Executive and the President reported on the year's activities, including the financial statements for 2006.
The quarterly meeting was addressed by Kerry Flanagan, First Assistant Secretary, Acute Care Division of the DoHA . Kerry's presentation covered the reforms to private health insurance in legislation currently before the Federal Parliament. Other guest speakers included the Acting Private Health Insurance Ombudsman, Samantha Gavel, and the managing Director of KPMG Actuaries, Mr David Torrance.
HIRMAA members took the opportunity of meeting together to discuss opportunities presented by the broader health cover initiatives in the legislation.
The December 2006 meeting was held in Adelaide . HIRMAA members agreed to amend the Constitution to admit like-minded organisations and welcomed into its membership Lysaght Peoplecare Ltd (previously a restricted fund) and Westfund Ltd. The meeting also amended its Constitution to insert the updated objectives of the organisation, as considered at earlier meetings.
The meeting had detailed discussions and presentations regarding the current industry reforms including presentations by the DoHA , PHIAC and the PHIO. There was also a presentation by the office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner as well as a number of speakers from the private sector.
The August 2006 meeting of HIRMAA was held in Sydney and all fourteen funds were represented by CEOs and, in many cases, a number of board members. Much of the programme was centred on the Federal Government's proposed changes to private health insurance, including broader health cover and reinsurance. HIRMAA has made detailed submissions to the Department of Health & Ageing on both these issues and awaits the Governnment's final deliberations. The meeting in Sydney was preceded by a retirement dinner for Dudley Wrigley who had devoted many years of service to HIRMAA, including an outstanding contribution as President.
At the April 2006 General Meeting of HIRMAA, the new Executive positions were confirmed. John Rashleigh (Navy Health) assumed the position of President while the outgoing President Michael Bassingthwaighte (Lysaght) accepted the role as Vice President. Other committee members are Brad Joyce (Teachers Federation Health), David Lynch (Defence Health) and Michael Oertel (Police Health).
The April meeting was also the last for retiring Executive Director, Norman Branson. At his retirement dinner on the preceding evening and at the general meeting, tributes were paid to Norman 's outstanding service to HIRMAA and, more generally, to the private health insurance industry over many years. The April meeting welcomed HIRMAA's new Executive Director, Ron Wilson.
