Fron Jackson-Webb, The Conversation and Emil Jeyaratnam, The Conversation
The Abbott government has scrapped its controversial A$7 co-payment plan and replaced it with a A$5 cut to GP rebates for patients over 16 without a concession card, and other rebate changes. The revised…
If we want to ensure the health system remains sustainable, it makes sense to use its cheapest and most efficient arm: general practice.
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Last year taxpayers spent A$6.3 billion on GP services through Medicare, about 6% of the total government health expenditure. This was a 50% increase (A$2.1 billion) in today’s dollars over the past decade…
Several private health insurers are trailing schemes to prevent their members’ health deteriorating.
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Australia’s population is in the midst of considerable demographic change, with a proportional rise in older age groups. Medical successes can now save the lives of those who would have died from illnesses…
The AMA proposal would wipe out 97% of the government’s $3.5bn savings.
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Jane Hall, University of Technology Sydney and Kees Van Gool, University of Technology Sydney
Bulk billing without restrictions has been a feature of the Australian health system since the introduction of Medicare in 1984. It is particularly important in general practice, as it means any Australian…
Cut waste before cuttings access or quality.
Phalinn Ooi/Flickr
Health policy debate over the past few months has been held to a $7 ransom. It’s as if the Medicare co-payment has been deified as the solution to all the health system’s ills. Of course, the $7 co-payment…
Abandoning health reforms will undoubtedly lead to worse performance, including longer waiting times, across the health system.
AAP Image/Quentin Jones
Yesterday was a sorry day in the long history of health reform in Australia. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Reform Council issued its five year score-keeper’s report on health reform progress…
The chances of a single level of government taking charge of Australia’s health system are slim.
AAP/Quentin Jones
The federal budget reignited debate over federal-state relations with a decision to cut $80 billion funding for the state responsibilities of schools and hospitals over the coming years. So how can federal-state…
Progress on GP super clinics is mixed, but it would be a mistake to condemn the program without a closer evaluation.
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The former Labor government’s GP Super Clinics Program has come in for a bashing. The Coalition has derided it as “a total waste of money” and News Corp has dubbed it a “dangerous health care experiment…
Medicare guarantees free public hospital care and funds a range of primary care and other health services.
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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…
Some insurers are testing opportunities to expand their involvement in primary care.
AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Prompted by the government’s Commission of Audit, health policy analysts have spent the first weeks of the year vigorously debating ways to rein in Australia’s rising health budget and to make the system…
Medicare Locals plan for better, tailored health services by drawing on local knowledge.
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Primary health care in Australia is a messy beast, with many heads and all sorts of body parts. But it’s centrally important because it plays a major role in achieving public health outcomes, such as better…
An identical patient with an identical presenting symptom of ‘tension headache’ might lead to a thousand different discussions.
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When we think of what defines a medical consultation, we quite reasonably think of the “presenting complaint”: the medical problem which the patient brings to the doctor. In movies, literature, common…
The current fee-for-service model makes it difficult to contain costs and boost the quality of care.
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In the fourth part of our series Health Rationing, Peter Sivey explains why it might be time to abandon Medicare’s fee-for-service model. Teachers aren’t paid a fee for each lesson they teach, nor are…
The biggest and fastest-growing spending category in health is hospitals.
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With health costs rising and costly medical innovations on the horizon, it’s crunch time for health funding. In the lead up to the May budget, The Conversation’s experts will explore the options for reining…
Medicare Locals are the primary health care flagship of the national health reforms being rolled out by the Labour Government.
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Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced 38 new Medicare Locals last week, bringing the total eventual number of organisations to 62. But so few of us know what they are or what they will do. For starters…
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne