The ACCC starts investigating the health insurers.
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Margaret and I on the 12th of September 2017 at the Callinish Standing Stones on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland.
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Margaret on the Isle of Lewis on the 12th of September 2017.
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I was not satisfied with simply trying to persuade the Directors of the rogue health insurers to force their companies to obey the law. I wrote to a number of government agencies which – in theory – had the power to take legal action against them. One agency with a reputation for actually enforcing the law was the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
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Josh Frydenberg, then Australian Treasurer
The ACCC is under the control of the Australian Treasurer. Until Saturday 21 May 2022, the Treasurer was Josh Frydenberg. I wrote to Josh Frydenberg on the 22nd of March, 2022, asking him to order the ACCC to conduct a formal investigation into the health insurance funds. I received a reply from the Treasurer on the 8th of April 2022.
Until the then ruling Australian government lost power in the 21st of May 2022 election, it seemed that the ACCC was determined to investigate the criminal conduct of the health insurers.
After the change of government on the 21st of May 2022, the ACCC ceased all investigations into the behaviour of the health insurers.
For reasons which will become clear in later Blogs, I think it is likely that the ACCC was ordered by new Treasurer Jim Chalmers to immediately stop all investigations into the health insurers.
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I think it is unlikely that the ACCC ceased all investigation because it found no criminal activities took place. It is more likely new Treasurer Jim Chalmers did what he was told to do by the health insurers. Though unfortunately, I cannot confirm this.
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This Table summarises my correspondence with Josh Frydenberg in April 2022.
Communication Details | Length of Correspondence | How Sent | Date of Response | Length of Response | What Did Response Say? |
Letter dated 8 April 2022 | 1 page | Sent by email to me noreply@pws.gov.au at 4:35 pm on 8 April 2022 | I replied to the Treasurer on 13 April 2022 | 2 pages | See below |
Letter dated 13 April 2022 | 2 pages | Mailed to David Pearl Assistant Secretary Market Conduct Division The Treasury Langton Crescent Parkes Australian Capital Territory 2600 | No response | Zero length | No response |
Letter dated 18 April 2022 | 2 pages | (1) Sent by email to jfrydenberg@aph.gov.au at 3:49 pm on 18 April 2022 (2) Mailed to David Pearl Assistant Secretary Market Conduct Division The Treasury Langton Crescent Parkes Australian Capital Territory 2600 | No response | Zero length | No response |
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This is the 8 April 2022 letter I received from the Treasurer.
Australian Government The Treasury Ref: MC22-003580 Dear Mr Hankin Thank you for your correspondence of 22 March 2022 to the Treasurer on the conduct of private health insurance funds. The Treasurer has asked me to respond to you. I am sorry to hear about your difficult circumstances and note your concern about the processing of claims by private health insurance funds from service providers. I understand you have contacted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The ACCC has confirmed your correspondence has been received and is currently considering the issues raised. An ACCC representative will be in contact with you shortly to discuss the issues further. I trust this information will be of assistance to you. Your sincerely David Pearl Assistant Secretary Market Conduct Division 08/04/ 2022 |
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I replied to the Treasurer through David Pearl on 13 April 2022. My letter said this.
Dear Mr Pearl, Thank you for your letter dated 8 April 2022 confirming that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is now investigating the matters raised in my letter to Mr Josh Frydenberg, Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia. I enclose for your information, a copy of a letter dated 13 April 2022 that I have sent to Mr Marcus Bezzi at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The letter to Mr Bezzi encloses copies of individual letters I have sent to all twenty six Directors of HCF, NIB and Teachers Health Funds. My letters to the Directors alerted them to the activities of the companies of which they are Directors and pointed out that because of the information I provided to them in my letters, they are now faced with the possibility of personal liability for the actions of their companies. |
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I sent this follow up letter to the Treasurer on 18 April 2022.
Dear Mr Pearl, Re: Likely Misconduct by at Least Some Directors of Health Insurance Funds Because of Their Failure to Stamp Out Repeated False and Misleading Conduct and Probable Cartel Behaviour by HCF and Other Private Health Insurance Funds I refer to my letter dated 13 April 2022. I enclose for your information, the copy of the letter dated 13 April 2022 that I have sent to Mr Marcus Bezzi at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Although my letter to you dated 13 April 2022 said that a copy of the letter to Mr Bezzini had been enclosed, I realised after mailing my letter to you, that it had been inadvertently omitted. I understand that the Treasurer Mr Frydenberg is also the Minister with responsibility for the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. I therefore also enclose a copy of a letter that I have written to Mr Brendan Facey, Senior Executive Leader, Misconduct and Breach Reporting and Office of the Whistleblower at ASIC. The letter to Mr Facey requests that ASIC conduct an investigation into possible breaches of Directors duties by Directors of HCF, NIB and Teachers Health Fund. I realise that the current Federal election campaign is likely to distract the attention of relevant Government Ministers from fulfilling their core Ministerial duties, but these matters are so important that they go to the heart of the duty of any Government – no matter what political persuasion it might have – towards the citizens of this country. I do not accept the existence of any election campaign as an excuse for continued inactivity by the relevant Ministers. For your information, I advise that the matters of which I complain, have been brought to the attention of Minister for Health Mr Greg Hunt over a period of several years. I have written a personal letter to Mr Hunt to which he has regrettably not seen fit to reply or even acknowledge. Any continuation of the complete lack of interest displayed by the Health Department – which has either explicitly or tacitly permitted these serious offences to keep occurring will not be acceptable – and will not be a “good look” for a Government seeking re-election. |
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The ACCC did a formal telephone interview with Margaret and me on Monday 2 May 2022. The ACCC officers seemed determined to unearth the truth.
In July 2022, the ACCC told us that it had ceased all investigations into the health insurers. I believe the ACCC did this because the newly elected Labor government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had obeyed the demands of the health insurers.
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