That this bill be now read a second time.

That all words after “That” be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

“whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House notes that:

(1)   while the expansion of private health insurance to coverage of services provided outside of hospital will have benefits for the 44% of Australians who have private health insurance, it will not provide access to the same kinds of services to the majority of Australians who don’t have private health insurance;

(2)   the expansion of private health insurance to cover a broader range of services will likely lead to further increases in private health insurance premiums;

(3)   the Bill pays scant attention to safety and quality issues for services provided under the rubric of Broader Health Cover;

(4)   the Bill does not include sufficient protections for the freedom of doctors to make clinical decisions about the treatment/s that will be in the best interests of their patients in relation to services provided under the rubric of Broader Health Cover; and

(5)   the $50 million the Howard Government provided to the private health insurance industry in the last budget to advertise their products is a waste of taxpayers’ money and an appalling use of scarce health resources”.