Health Merger 'to Bring Jobs'

Illawarra Mercury

Thursday December 11, 2008

By BRETT COX

THE merger between Medibank Private and ahm will boost jobs in Wollongong, Medibank Private managing director George Savvides said yesterday.

Speaking after the Federal Court approved the merger, the boss of the nation's biggest health insurer told the Mercury plans were in place to employ more Medibank staff, who would be based in ahm's new Wollongong office.

Ahm itself would also expand, Mr Savvides added.

In particular, Medibank would increase ahm's Total Health service tenfold to serve 200,000 people, which would require more staff.

Mr Savvides referred to a visit to Wollongong in July, when he pledged that the ahm brand would remain, jobs would not be lost and awards would be honoured.

"We have ... made a commitment to the community of Wollongong, the operational hub of ahm," he told a press conference yesterday.

That commitment would be honoured and there would also be "investment over time", which would be "good for jobs in Wollongong".

It would include "changes as we bring in integration but job growth overall," he added.

Ahm had already hired nine new workers before the approval of the merger.

Community sponsorship and partnerships already established by ahm in the Illawarra would also continue, Mr Savvides said.

Ahm chief executive Michael McLeod told the Mercury ahm members should not notice any changes to their service and the fund would be "going about our business as normal".

More than 95 per cent of the 77,000 ahm members who voted approved the three resolutions that were needed for the acquisition to take place.

Ahm chairman Chris Doogan said he believed this was the most overwhelming vote of any recent demutualisation process.

The merger will occur on January 15, at which point ahm will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Medibank.

Ahm will distribute cash payments to participating members in accordance with the scheme in late January.

Ahm is the eighth largest health insurer in the country, with 154,500 memberships covering 311,000 people.

The Federal Government-owned Medibank Private covers three million people.

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

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