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Australia - Health Care Financing and Expenditure

Page history last edited by Cain Farmer 14 years, 3 months ago

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Total Health Care Spending (Per Capita US$) & Year

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Total Health Care Spending as (% of GDP) & Year

  • Australia spent one in every 11 dollars on health in 2005-06, equaling $86.9 billion, 9.0% of gross domestic product (GDP).
  • Health spending per person was 45% more in 2005-06 than a decade before, even after adjusting for inflation.

 

Health Care Funders (Percentage of total costs)

 

Australian Government

In 2005-06, the Australian Government provided $37,229 million for health goods and services (43% of total expenditure) (Table 8.3). The three areas in which the Australian Government contributed the most funding were medical services ($12,239 million), public hospital services ($10,105 million) and benefit-paid pharmaceuticals ($6,046 million) (Table S44). Much of this funding was provided through Medicare, the AHCAs and the PBS and RPBS (see Box 8.3).

 

The Australian Government Medicare levy raised $6,525 million in 2005-06 (Table S41). This was equivalent to 18% of the Australian Government’s total recurrent health funding for that year.

State/territory and local governments

 

The bulk of funding from the remaining two levels of government comes from state/territory governments, with local governments contributing some of the funding for public and community health services. In 2005-06, these two levels of government provided $21,646 million for health goods and services (25% of total expenditure) (Table 8.3). State/territory and local governments were the major source of funding for community health services ($3,167 million) and patient transport services ($899 million). Nationally, more than half of the funding by state/territory and local governments was directed to public hospital services ($12,374 million or 57% of total state/territory and local government health funding for 2005-06) (Table S44).

 

Non-government sources

In 2005-06, around one-third of funding on health goods and services was provided by the non-government sector ($28,004 million or 32% of total expenditure) (Table 8.3). Just over half of this funding came from out-of-pocket payments by individuals ($15,086 million or 17%). This included circumstances where individuals met the full cost of a service or good, as well as where they shared the funding of goods and services with third-party payers—for example, with private health insurance funds or the Australian Government.

 

In this case, private health insurance funds provided $6,284 million of funding and the remaining $6,634 million came from other non-government sources (mainly compulsory third-party motor vehicle and workers compensation insurers). Non-government sources provided the bulk of funding for dental services ($4,342 million) and aids and appliances ($2,378 million). Funding for medications was shared mainly between the Australian Government ($6,117 million) and individual out-of-pocket payments ($5,276 million) (Table S44).

 

Over the decade from 1995-96, funding by private health insurance funds decreased from 11% to 7% of total health expenditure (Table 8.3). This reflected the 30% rebate for private health insurance from the Australian Government. Private health insurance benefits that were previously funded almost entirely by private health insurance premiums were instead funded 30% by the Australian Government. In 2005-06, 4% of total health expenditure was funded by the Australian Government’s 30% rebate and 7% was funded through private health insurance funds (AIHW 2007a).

 

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