Articles on Health reform

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The United States, which relies heavily on private health insurance, spends 18% of its GDP on health care, well above the OECD average of 9%. Shutterstock

Private insurance reliance means countries pay more for health care

Ian McAuley, University of Canberra

Ahead of the May budget, health minister Peter Dutton has said he wants to start “a national conversation about modernising and strengthening Medicare”. A national conversation would be welcome, but is…
‘Going private’ may speed up your time to treatment, but Medicare shouldn’t pick up the tab. Shutterstock

Want Medicare savings? Stop paying for private hospitals

Peter Sivey, La Trobe University

The polls this week suggest half of Australians think the Abbott government should reduce the cost of Medicare. My solution? Claw back some of the A$9 billion the government pays to private hospitals…
The cost of operations varies from hospital to hospital but a higher price doesn’t equal better care. TheTun/Shutterstock

Public hospital efficiency gains could save $1 billion a year

Stephen Duckett, Grattan Institute

Public hospital spending has been the single fastest-growing area of government spending over the past decade. As governments, policymakers and economists put health spending under the microscope, it’s…
Rather than looking back, we need to decide on the future foundations of Australia’s health system. Image from shutterstock.com

On being treated well: reforming Medicare after 30 years

Anthony Harris, Monash University

Treasurer Joe Hockey and health minister Peter Dutton have been in overdrive this past week lowering expectations for the May budget and reminding Australians that its 30-year-old Medicare system is “unsustainable…
Big announcements aren’t the answer – the health system needs a long-term plan. AAP Image/Quentin Jones

Mr Abbott, make 2014 a year of health reform, not regression

Stephen Duckett, Grattan Institute

This year is crunch time for Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s health policies. The financing and policy changes from the Rudd-Gillard government are finally taking effect and the National Commission of Audit…
Medicare guarantees free public hospital care and funds a range of primary care and other health services. Image from shutterstock.com

Explainer: what is Medicare and how does it work?

Anne-marie Boxall, University of Sydney

Medicare is Australia’s universal health scheme. It is a Commonwealth government program that guarantees all citizens (and some overseas visitors) access to a wide range of health services at little or…
Governments setting out to control spending, or move it in more efficient directions, must have strong backbones. AAP Image/David Crosling

Securing Australia’s future: health care

Jim Gillespie, University of Sydney

SECURING AUSTRALIA’S FUTURE: As the Commission of Audit reviews government activity and spending, The Conversation’s experts take a closer look at key policy areas tied to this funding – what’s working…
Peter Dutton and Tanya Plibersek at the National Press Club where, like the rest of the campaign, the parties seemed to vie to be blander. Penny Bradfield/AAP

Bland is best? Bipartisan health platform left no room for policy

Stephen Duckett, Grattan Institute

The dictionary has many words that could describe health policy in the 2013 federal election campaign – anodyne, soporific and vapid all come to mind. Australia’s health policy problems cannot afford the…
Health care is one of the top three issues of concern for Australian voters, but it has received little attention in this election campaign. Esther Simpson

Absence of health issues on election agenda bodes ill for much‑needed reform

John Dwyer, UNSW Sydney

So far in this election campaign, the Coalition has provided dollar promises for worthy projects but no new health policy initiatives. The government has mentioned one policy of note – to remove family…
The key question is whether the new prime minister regards the hospital system as having been fixed. AAP Image/David Crosling

Will the buck stop with Rudd on fixing the hospital system?

Robert Wells, Australian National University

One of the key platforms of the first Rudd government was to reform the health and hospital system. The key message from then-prime minister Kevin Rudd was that the health, and particularly hospitals…
Social, environmental and economic forces affect a person’s health. Sander van der Wel.

The growing movement to increase health equity

Melissa Sweet, University of Canberra

It’s a story that wouldn’t normally make the headlines. A middle-aged man in a central Queensland town found himself stacking on a lot of weight unusually quickly. His blood pressure was on the rise, and…
Until the Opposition releases its health policy, it’s impossible to know what will happen to the health reform agenda. Alejandro Polanco

Election places national health reform at a crossroads

Jane Hall, University of Technology Sydney

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced the federal election will be held in mid-September. So, what will happen to the ambitious program of health reform that the Labor government is in the process…
With limited support for public dental care, most Australians bear the open-ended costs of high-expense treatments. massdistraction

Moving beyond patchwork reform for dental health

Ian McAuley, University of Canberra

The Commonwealth’s government’s $4bn Dental Reform package, announced last week, promises to address many current inequities in access to dental care. It has been praised for its potential to reduce dental…
Health-care budgets are far from infinite, so how do we decide what’s funded and what’s not? stumayhew

Who deserves more health‑care funding? Let’s hear from Australians themselves

Terry Flynn, University of Technology Sydney and Joffre Swait, University of Technology Sydney

Health-care reform in industrialised countries is usually motivated by ageing populations, shaky economic conditions and shifting demographics. Health budgets are finite, so decisions must be made about…
The poor suffer the greatest burden of disease but are less able to deal with the costs. Brooks Elliott

Next steps in health care reform

Tim Usherwood, University of Sydney

Australia is facing an epidemic of chronic lifestyle-related diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and chronic lung disease. We have many treatments for these that aren’t necessarily…

Too few Australians receive appropriate care

University of New South Wales and University of South Australia

Australians only receive “appropriate” healthcare 57% of the time, according to a study published in the Medical Journal…
There are a number of design flaws in the new hospital funding system. xparxy

Why the new way of funding public hospitals won’t work

Anthony Scott, The University of Melbourne and Jongsay Yong, The University of Melbourne

The first of July saw the introduction of one of the most important health care reforms for Australia’s public hospitals: national activity-based funding (ABF). Hospitals will now be paid a fixed price…
A strong health system can balance public and private care – just look at Australia. AAP

Private sector reforms don’t spell the end of the NHS

Peter Sivey, The University of Melbourne and Terence C. Cheng, The University of Melbourne

After a long, painful political and legislative process, the United Kingdom’s Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition government has finally been given the green light to proceed with its National Health…

Related Topics

  1. GP co-payment
  2. Health economics
  3. Health financing
  4. Health policy
  5. Hospitals
  6. Medicare
  7. Paying for Health
  8. Primary care
  9. Private health insurance
  10. Public hospitals

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