Public hospitals have been accused of wilfully contributing to the long surgery waiting times of their public patients by allowing private patients to "jump the queue" to raise revenue from insurers.
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An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, released on Thursday, shows more and more Australians are being admitted to public hospitals over private hospitals.
"Admissions rose by 4.3 per cent on average each year for public hospitals and 3.6 per cent for private hospitals between 2012--13 and 2016--17," said AIHW spokeswoman Jenny Hargreaves.
The majority of the 11 million admissions to public hospitals in 2016-17 - 83 per cent, or 5.5 million - were for public patients.
However for about 1-in-7 patients their admission was partly or fully funded by their private insurance - that equates to 14 per cent of all admissions to public hospitals.
Australian Private Hospitals Association CEO Michael Roff said the AIHW report was proof public patients are being disadvantaged by public hospitals wanting to make a "pretty penny".
"The latest data shows privately insured patients continue to jump the queue in public hospitals," Mr Roff said.
"The median wait time for elective surgery for a public patient is 42 days. That's twice as long as the privately insured who wait a median of 21 days."
Mr Roff said it was time the public hospitals started putting patients - not profits - first.
"The evidence is piling up that public hospitals are wilfully contributing to long waiting times for their public patients who pay the price, living with reduced quality of life while they wait for surgery," he said.
Australian Associated Press
