Doctors say 'junk' insurance needs to go

Doctors have called for reform of the private health insurance industry, claiming "junk" policies are clogging the hospital system.

Australian Medical Association president Brian Owler says policies that cover people for public hospitals only or are filled with exclusions that make them "essentially worthless" need to be stamped out.

"We can't have people that think that they can first of all jump a waiting list because they're private health insured and then go through a public hospital," Associate Professor Owler told the AMA's national conference in Brisbane on Saturday.