The newest private hospital on the New South Wales Central Coast will close its doors next month less than five years after opening, as the private health industry faces major challenges across Australia.Operator Healthe-Care says it is closing the facility due to increasing costs and poor private health fund ratesHealthe-Care's $23-million Tuggerah Lakes Private Hospital at Kanwal opened in 2019 to cater for the region's fast-growing population.
But he said he didn't foresee any more closures because the other facilities "have been established much longer… are breaking even and have a strong base of doctors" to support them.Mr Sam described health funds as "running a fine line" because they were under a lot of pressure to keep prices down, while at the same time were being urged by the private hospital sector to increase the rates they paid operators to cover service costs.