New research suggests GPs aren’t routinely defrauding Medicare, and in fact have saved the system hundreds of millions of dollars by under-billing.
Articles on Health reform
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Medicare access could be restricted to GPs who agree to bulk bill all patients, while allowing those who don’t bulk bill to rely solely on out-of-pocket payments.
More Australians are delaying care or going to emergency departments because they can’t see a GP. Here are six reasons why.
A new Grattan report recommends making general practice a team sport, using the skills of other clinicians and health-care workers.
If we want people with complex care needs to prioritise their health, cutting patient fees, providing flexible hours and paying attention to their social circumstances would be a good start.
How can we get better primary health care access, quality and affordability that Labor has promised? We need to learn from what’s worked and failed overseas.
By borrowing from the British NHS system of working closely with general practitioners, this radical shake-up of New Zealand’s health system can greatly improve primary healthcare.
Patients often want the option to be treated at home rather than being admitted to hospital. But it’s much less likely to happen if you’re a private patient.
Paying doctors a fee for each service they provide isn’t delivering optimal value for the health dollar. Instead, we should pay doctors a lump sum to care for a patient’s medical problem over time.
Subsidies for private health insurance premiums cost the government over A$6 billion a year. Is it time to scrap the rebate and redirect these funds elsewhere in the health system?
Public hospitals in Australia are owned and operated by state (and territory) governments. So why does the Commonwealth government attract blame for lack of hospital funding?
Uganda’s primary healthcare system needs to be strengthened to provide long term care for older people with chronic conditions.
Headlines pointed to the privatisation of hospital, end-of-life and dental services, but the Productivity Commission’s report is actually a lot less radical.
The burden of an ageing population on health systems is only going to grow, in both rich and poor countries.
Shadow minister for health and medicare Catherine King said under this government, average out-of-pocket costs for GP visits are up by almost 20%. Is that true?
The Victorian government should follow the UK’s example and provide performance data about individual clinicians to help avoid tragedies such as deaths of babies at Bacchus Marsh Hospital.
As health care providers seek ways to improve care and cut costs, providers and insurance companies have teamed up. A program in Michigan where providers share notes in real time appears to work.
For real reform to Medicare’s fee-for-service payments model, we need to look for more innovative solutions to how we pay for health care. These can be found in an unlikely place: the United States.
People ending up in hospital for diabetes, tooth decay, or other conditions that should be treatable or manageable out of hospital is a warning sign of system failure.
The government must do more to deliver a 21st-century health system – not just to improve its standing with voters but to meet the health needs of all Australians.
Top contributors
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Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne
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Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute
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Reader in Health Economics, Centre for Health Economics, University of York
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Professor of Health Economics and Director, Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School, Monash University
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Professor of Health Economics and Director, Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation, University of Technology Sydney
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Jim Gillespie is a Friend of The Conversation.
Associate Professor in Health Policy, Leeder Centre for Health Policy, Economics and Data & Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney
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Lecturer, Public Sector Finance, University of Canberra
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Adjunct Associate Professor, Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, University of Sydney
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Professor of Health Economics, University of Technology Sydney
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Health economist, University of Sydney
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Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University
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Associate Professor, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney; University of Canberra
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Associate, Grattan Institute
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Professor of Health Economics, University of Bologna, University of Newcastle
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Emeritus Professor, Menzies Centre for Health Policy, University of Sydney