Blog No. 167 - Australian Competition and Consumer Commission – Part 1: 6 February 2025

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.

Blog No. 166 - HCF Chairman Mark Johnson – Part 5: 5 February 2025

 HCF tries to cover its arse while agreeing it will obey the law.

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Margaret on the 30th of August 2016 in Ketchikan Cultural Centre, Alaska.

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En route to Alaska by boat on the 31st of August 2016.

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The letter from Mark Johnson, dated 13th of May 2022.

As I said in Blog 165, on the 13th of May 2022, I received a letter from HCF Chair Mark Johnson.

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Analysis of the Mark Johnson Letter

This is my analysis of the Mark Johnson letter.  The letter itself can be seen via the attached link.

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My Complaints Discussed by the HCF Board

Dear Mr Hankin, I refer to your letter to me dated 5 May 2022. As I mentioned in my brief acknowledgement earlier this week, I can confirm that the HCF Board is in receipt of your letters and this matter has been investigated internally, including being reported to the HCF Board.

Translation ↓

The opening paragraph said the HCF Board had discussed my letter and a report had been given to the Board.   It is unclear whether the letters I sent to the Directors on 11 April 2022 had been relayed to them prior to my Mark Johnson letter dated 5 May 2022.  I suspect they were (at least initially) suppressed.

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Never Plead Guilty – Even When You Are!

HCF is aware of its obligations under the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 (Cth) and its rules and we are very confident that the law has been correctly applied when reviewing Type C certificates submitted by Lift Cancer Care.

Translation ↓

I have to say this.  What else can I say?  I can’t just say HCF is guilty!

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We Are Looking After Our Members!

It is important for members that there is proper control over the use of member funds and accordingly we have diligent processes in place to ensure payment is made only when claims meet regulatory requirements.

Translation ↓

Because we were members of HCF, HCF was actually looking after us when it refused to obey the law.  In reality, perhaps Margaret and I wanted HCF to screw us when Margaret attended lift! Meaningless words inserted by the lawyers.

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(1) Everyone We Can Screw, We Do Screw!

HCF treats all providers equally when reviewing the completeness of Type C certificates.

Translation ↓

We obey the law for all health services providers who are large enough to be able to force us to obey the law.  Everyone else gets screwed.

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(2) Everyone We Can Screw, We Do Screw!

With very few exceptions Type C certificates and claims submitted to HCF are compliant with the legal requirements and paid when first assessed.

Translation ↓

The Type C certificates submitted by Lift Cancer Care Services do not comply with the law because HCF says they do not comply, even if they follow the exact wording suggested by the Department of Health.

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HCF Is Not Even Handed: We Have Only Screwed Lift!

To date, Lift Cancer Care has been the outlier in non-compliance with these requirements.

Translation ↓

The paid HCF management has assured me that no other health provider has been treated in the same way as Lift.  We have not treated anyone else in the same manner that we have treated Lift.  I am fully aware you think this is rubbish.

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Forget What Sheena Jack Said

HCF has always been willing to pay benefits claimed by Lift Cancer Care provided that it can provide a Type C certificate with the information which would make the certificate compliant.

Translation ↓

The paid HCF management hope you forget that Sheena Jack put forward a completely different and nonsensical set of reasons for refusing to pay the Lift claims.  The lawyers who drafted this letter want me to rehash the same lies that HCF has already peddled to the Ombudsman.  Please forget the completely different set of lies put forward by Sheena Jack in her letter dated 3 May 2022.

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(1) The Lawyers Insist I Say This

We have communicated our requirements to Lift Cancer Care numerous times, however they have not provided this information to HCF.

Translation ↓

The lawyers insist I say this.  We both know this is bulls**t, but I have to say it.

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(2) The Lawyers Insist I Say This

HCF does not agree with your allegations that HCF and its employees have acted “illegally and improperly” or breached any laws in our refusal to pay benefits to Lift Cancer Care on the basis of the Type C certificates that we have received.

Translation ↓

The lawyers also insist I say this.

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(3) The Lawyers Insist I Say This

HCF also does not agree with your allegation that it has tried to make Lift Cancer Care claims “disappear” or pretend “they never existed” – all claims submitted by Lift Cancer Care are traceable on our systems.

Translation ↓

The lawyers were most insistent that I say this.   We both know it is bulls**t.  Please forget about our false online official claims’ histories.

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We Will Pay Because We Have No Choice

While HCF maintains its view is the correct legal position, to avoid further member distress and cost, HCF has, without any admission of liability, subsequently paid claims on an “ex-gratia” basis, including reimbursement for claims paid by your wife Margaret.

Translation ↓

It has become too difficult for HCF to continue to ignore the law, so we will now obey the law.

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We Didn’t Do a Dirty Deal with the Ombudsman!

Your allegation that payment of Margaret’s claims as an “ex-gratia” payment is because of a “dirty deal” with the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman, is not correct, rather it was a reimbursement of Margaret’s claims made at our discretion, despite the failure of Lift Cancer Care to provide a complying Type C certificate.

Translation ↓

We definitely did not do a dirty deal with the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman definitely did not ask us to make a payment to you so that the Ombudsman could dismiss your complaints.  I know this makes no sense but just ignore the fact the Ombudsman told you it had dismissed your complaints because HCF had given you some money.

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Will You Now Bugger Off?

Lynette Macks (HCF Head of Membership) sent you a reconciliation of your claims to date on 12 May 2022. If you have further queries on this matter they might best be addressed by the HCF Chief Officer – Member Health (Julie Andrews, jandrews@hcf.com.au). Yours sincerely Mark G. Johnson

Translation ↓

Now please, please bugger off!

Blog No. 165 - HCF Chairman Mark Johnson – Part 4: 4 February 2025

Sheena Jack’s letter was stupid and filled with lies.

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Margaret on the 19th of August 2016 in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. 

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Another photo of Margaret on the 19th of August 2016 in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

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It was obvious that I would get only more meaningless words and a continued refusal to obey the law out of HCF CEO Sheena Jack.  I believed the policy of refusing to pay the Lift claims had been implemented because of direct orders from Sheena Jack.  I believed the HCF policy of “disappearing” claims involving Lift Cancer had probably been implemented because of direct orders from Sheena Jack.  

It was obviously pointless asking Sheena Jack to stop breaking the law.

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I had to write yet again to HCF Chairman Mark Johnson.

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My letter to Mark Johnson dated 5 May 2022 contained 13 pages.  Here are some highlights from that letter.

I believe there is a real possibility you did not receive my letter to you dated 11 April.  If you didn’t, I will send you another copy. The letter from Sheen Jack reinforces my belief that HCF has been knowingly involved in the commission of multiple offences against the requirements of a whole array of legislative requirements. The “apology” from Sheena Jack is rejected.  It was not sincere and Sheen Jack must have been personally involved in the actions taken by HCF. HCF and the Ombudsman did a “dirty deal” the effect of which was that the Ombudsman would terminate my complaints so long as HCF made me a payment of an amount agreed between HCF and the Ombudsman.  In agreeing to not carry out its statutory duties, the Ombudsman agreed that it would stop performing its statutory functions so long as a payment of money was made at the request of the Ombudsman to a third party – me and my wife Margaret.  I was not consulted and the “go way money” accepted by the Ombudsman was paid into my account without my knowledge before I was even told that the deal had been done. The legal explanation put forward by Sheena Jack to justify its refusal to obey the law was complete rubbish. I had made formal complaints to government agencies about the conduct of HCF and the crimes committed by HCF are in the process of being revealed by the searchlight of the law and public opinion.   HCF would be convicted through the legal process of a large number of wide ranging offences against an array of legislative provisions. It appeared to me that the actions of HCF might have been orchestrated to comply with advice provided by its lawyers as to how HCF could breach the law and best protect itself from the consequences of doing that  HCF needs to take active steps to immediately stop any continuation of its breaches of the law and assist the appropriate government agencies in carrying out a thorough investigation into what has happened.  I believed there was a high probability that other health funds have acted in a similar manner and that they have done so in full knowledge that their “competitors” have acted in a similar manner. As part of a “damage control” exercise, the Directors of HCF ought to consider the following actions. Immediate suspension of Ms Jack pending an investigation by external investigators of what HCF has done and the extent of its breaches of legislative requirements. If investigation reveals – as I thought likely – that Ms Jack has been a central figure in unlawful actions by HCF, she ought to be dismissed. A full confession should be made immediately to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.  If HCF confesses to the ACCC before any other funds, it might be able to obtain a lesser penalty than it might otherwise sustain. HCF should give deep consideration to what form of redress it should make to the victims of its unlawful conduct.  Those victims include Lift Cancer Care Services and the cancer patients whose claims for treatment have been treated with contempt by HCF.  Those victims include other health service providers who have been denied payment for services provided to their patients solely because HCF has decided to ignore its legal obligations in relation to those providers.  Some of those victims may well now be dead.  Some of the health providers have probably been driven into bankruptcy.  The list of victims was likely to be extensive. Any redress for the victims of HCF misconduct should be compensated not just by payment of the money that should always have been paid, but by payment of specific compensation based on the fact that they have been victims of crime.  If victims are dead, efforts should be made to identify their next of kin so that the appropriate compensation can be paid to the estate of the dead victims. If a preliminary check of HCF records reveals that the legal advisers to HCF have been involved in assisting in what has been going on (in effect, assisting HCF to commit crimes) the relevant documents containing any such legal advice should be provided immediately to the ACCC. Until Mark Johnson and his fellow Directors are convinced on the basis of persuasive evidence that no impropriety should be attributed to the HCF legal advisers, any future legal advice in relation to these matters should be obtained from legal advisers who might not subsequently be found to have played a role in what has gone on. I concluded by saying it was essential that HCF immediately stop acting unlawfully, own up to what it had done and take all possible steps to compensate those who have suffered because of HCF’s unlawful conduct.

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The complete letter to Mark Johnson is accessible through this link. If somehow you cannot view it, please email us at ‘admin@hankinredden.com.au’ and we can send you the document directly. 

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Response from Mark Johnson 9 May 2022

I received an email reply from Mark Johnson at 11:40 am on Monday 9 May 2022.  It said this.

Dear Mr Hankin,  Many thanks for your letter.   I can confirm the Board is aware of your concerns and that they were discussed at our most recent Board meeting.  I am considering the detail in your note and will reply more fulsomely later this week.  Kind regards   Mark G Johnson

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I received a letter from Mark Johnson on the 13t of May 2022 attached to an email which the computer says I received at 2:53 pm on 13 May 2022.  In effect, the Johnson letter confirmed that senior management of HCF had been directed to obey the law – even though the letter claimed HCF had not broken the law.

HCF was reluctantly about to start obeying the law.

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I was on the verge of winning the struggle with HCF.  Margaret’s death soon drew much closer.