Assistant Treasurer Senator Helen Coonan believes Australia’s health care system would not function properly without effective indemnity cover to protect doctors and consumers.

Speaking at the 2004 Stakeholder Forum medico-legal conference following the release of a new report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission into medical indemnity insurance, she said she recognises the need to balance the competing rights and obligations in the legal system with a need to keep reviewing reforms to ensure they are having the intended effect.

“Over the last two years, the Government has been steadily developing and implementing a series of reforms to put our medical indemnity industry on a financially viable footing and, at the same time, ensuring doctors’ medical indemnity cover is affordable and that claims will be met,” she said.

Senator Coonan says reforms already undertaken and programs in place to support the medical indemnity industry through its transition to prudential regulation should be seen only as first steps.

“From material presented to the Medical Indemnity Policy Review Panel it is clear that insurers could reduce the costs of claims through risk management activities.”

Noting that a number of medical indemnity insurers offer doctors discounts of up to 10% to take part in risk management programs and activities, she said: “I heartily applaud these actions and hope they can be continued and expanded.”

Senator Coonan also raised the possibility of building a system of risk management and alternative dispute resolution for doctors through a professional standards scheme, which could allow doctors’ liabilities to be capped.