News
Mixed fortunes for hospitals |
| Spokesperson: | Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association |
| Date: | Wednesday, 13 May 2009 |
| Category: | Budget 2009 |
| The Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association (AHHA) has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of much-needed health infrastructure projects. However the Association’s members are disappointed that the funding for hospitals and health service facilities appears to fall short of the promised $5 billion from the 2008-09 Budget. The AHHA is the peak national body representing public hospitals, area health services, community health centres and public aged care providers. "The AHHA is also disappointed that the Federal Government has made the decision to remove the commitment of the additional $5 billion in expected funding to the Health and Hospitals Infrastructure Fund. This is undermining the future of the health system and threatens the Government’s goals for health reform," Ms Prue Power, Executive Director, said. "The community will share our concern that Australia's strained hospital and health service infrastructure has not been given the much-needed attention that was promised in the last Budget. The health needs of the population do not slow down even when the economy does. "The funding saved through the means testing of the inefficient Private Health Insurance (PHI) Rebate Scheme should be used to make up the funding shortfall for the Health and Hospitals Infrastructure Fund. As the Department of the Treasury stated previously in advice to the Government, direct funding to hospitals is much more effective, rather than via the PHI rebate. The AHHA does not accept that the funds should be lost from the health system as a savings measure. "The AHHA welcomes some Budget measures, such as the reform of the Medicare safety-net to target benefits more directly to those in need and to reduce the opportunities for private providers to manipulate the system. The AHHA also strongly supports funding to hospitals for elective surgery and subacute care, two key issues identified in the AHHA’s Service Integration policy released in 2008. "We also support health workforce initiatives announced, specifically incentives to increase the number of doctors in rural and remote areas, and the expansion of MBS and PBS for some nurse practitioners and midwives. The announcement of infrastructure funding for research and clinical training is also a welcome investment in the future. "However, the effectiveness of these initiatives will be undermined if our hospitals and health services do not have the infrastructure required to support high quality care. Unless we want the next generation of Australians to inherit a health system that is not physically equipped to meet the needs of the community and lags behind that of other countries, the Government must increase funding for health infrastructure," Ms Power said. |
|