St Vincent’s, Australia’s largest not-for-profit health and aged care services provider, and the private health insurer Bupa today announced a new partnership agreement. 

The two-year deal will help provide joint patients and customers certainty over their health and care expenses while helping to limit out-of-pocket costs for Bupa members at St Vincent’s hospitals. It will cover Bupa’s customers at St Vincent’s 10 private hospitals in NSW, Victoria, and Queensland.

Under the new partnership, St Vincent’s and Bupa will work towards trialing a short-stay hip and knee program at several St Vincent’s hospitals. St Vincent’s has also extended its digital mental health service, This Way Up, to Bupa customers for treatment of critical issues such as anxiety, depression, and insomnia. 

St Vincent’s CEO Chris Blake said: “This agreement demonstrates that collaboration and partnership between hospital providers and health insurers remains achievable and can drive better health outcomes.

“It’s a partnership that supports the viability of our hospitals – particularly our regional services – while giving Bupa members access to some of the best private healthcare in Australia.

“Our partnership with Bupa has always been about more than just financial arrangements. We are both committed to working together to add value for customers – our patients – and moving private health forward,” Mr Blake said. 

Bupa Health Insurance Managing Director Chris Carroll said: “Working alongside St Vincent’s, we’ve strived to put in place a partnership that puts patients first and helps ensure our customers have access to affordable and high value care.

“We want to be a true partner in our customers’ healthcare, and partnerships like this help us innovate and respond to meet the changing health and wellbeing needs of Australians, now and into the future.

“This shows what’s possible when hospitals and health insurers work together to address the current challenges facing our sector. This includes addressing increased private hospital costs while keeping our customers’ premiums as low as possible, particularly in light of current cost-of-living pressures,” Mr Carroll said.

Mr Blake said hospital providers and health funds had roles to play to help safeguard the private health system. 

“Everyone understands Australia’s private health sector, as with the broader health system, is undergoing a period of transition at the moment,” he said.

“For private health care to operate effectively, health funds and hospitals need to work together, and on an even playing field. That’s where this agreement springs from, the goal of putting patient care first, and supporting the sustainability of our sector,” said Mr Blake.

List of St Vincent’s private hospitals:

•    St Vincent’s Private Hospital Sydney

•    The Mater Sydney

•    St Vincent’s Private Hospital Fitzroy

•    St Vincent’s Private Hospital East Melbourne

•    St Vincent’s Private Hospital Kew

•    St Vincent’s Private Hospital Werribee

•    St Vincent’s Private Hospital Brisbane

•    St Vincent’s Private Hospital Northside (north Brisbane)

•    St Vincent’s Private Hospital Toowoomba

•    St Vincent’s Private Community Hospital Griffith