Seeking and making sense of specialist fees is an unfair burden to place on vulnerable patients. A website might be helpful for some – but health professionals need to be held to higher account.
The number of Medicare claims Australians make in a year doubled between 1984 and 2018.
By Sopotnick
Jane Hall, University of Technology Sydney and Kees Van Gool, University of Technology Sydney
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.
Premium subsidies encourage Australians to take out and keep private health insurance.
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?
The funding proposal is no fix for Australia’s health system but it could take some political pressure off the Coalition in the lead up to the 2019 federal election.
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Each year, inspectors visit Australian hospitals. But they're less like secret shoppers who identify flaws, and more like guests of a carefully orchestrated performance. This needs to change.
High fees are prohibitive for many people who need to see a specialist.
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Yes, doctors' fees should be transparent, but that requirement alone doesn't go far enough to combat "bill shock". Specialists should also be required to set fees that are "fair and reasonable".
The sugar industry has a lot of influence over health policy.
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Australia needs a sugar tax, as part of a broader national nutrition policy, to combat the obesity crisis. And the sugar industry is getting in the way.
The sugar industry has employed various tactics to influence health policy in its favour.
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Tonight, Four Corners looks at the tactics Big Sugar has used to influence health policy. Here's our pick of five analysis pieces that will get you informed on the issue before the program airs.
Some people choose private health insurance for shorter wait times.
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Jane Hall, University of Technology Sydney and Rosalie Viney, University of Technology Sydney
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?
Government price controls start with good intentions but often result in unintended consequences.
AAP/David Crosling
We are paying more for our health insurance because we are using it more. No crude, short-term measures to restrict premium growth will deal with this fact.
The rate of complications varies markedly between hospitals.
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The rapid growth of genetic testing and data-gathering could revolutionize health and medicine if governments work to protect people against privacy and societal risks.
As cities in developing countries - like Lagos in Nigeria, pictured here - grow, so do obesity risks.
Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye
Governments must understand that the factors making cities convenient and productive also make their residents prone to obesity. They must confront this challenge with intelligent, focused policies.
Information on patients’ experiences with their hospital care is often not reported back to public hospitals at unit or ward level.
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