AMA Pre-Budget Submission 2023-24
The AMA Pre-Budget Submission 2023-24 calls for urgent and significant investment across the five pillars of AMA's Vision for Australia's Health: general practice, public hospitals, private health, a health system for all, and a health system for the future. Each chapter is backed by research to provide full costed and implementable solutions.
Chapter 1: General practice
General practice is the cornerstone of our health system. But it is not funded to deliver the care that Australians need. Chapter 1 of the AMA Pre-Budget Submission 2023-24 calls for additional investment in general practice, so patients can spend more time with their trusted GPs, access more care under one roof, and be better supported – whether they live with chronic wounds, are in a residential aged care facility, or require care afterhours.
Chapter 2: Public hospitals
The current funding model for our public hospitals is not fit for purpose. It’s only focused on the number of procedures that hospitals provide. It doesn’t adequately account for the fact that Australia’s population is growing, ageing, and developing more complex health needs. Nor does it provide enough funding to keep people out of hospital through preventative and community care.
Chapter 2 of the AMA Pre-Budget Submission 2023-24 draws on the AMA research report Public hospitals: cycle of crisis calls for $20.5 billion across four years to create a more equitable 50-50 funding share between the Commonwealth and states and territories, and to remove the existing 6.5% cap on funding growth. It also calls for additional partnership hospital funding to be provided to improve performance, expand capacity, and address avoidable admissions.
Chapter 3: Private health
Leveraging the work undertaken in the AMA’s Prescription for Private Health, Chapter 3 of the AMA Pre-Budget Submission 2023-24 provides a roadmap to improving value and affordability, as well as restoring consumer confidence in private health insurance. A key component of this roadmap is the establishment of a Private Health System Authority to oversee the private health system and create a platform for the once-in-a-generation reforms that are required to ensure the future viability of private healthcare in Australia.
Chapter 4: A health system for all
As part of Australia’s preventative health agenda, Chapter 4 of the AMA Pre-Budget Submission 2023-24 calls for a tax on sugary soft drinks to help tackle obesity and other preventable chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. Our research, further detailed in the AMA’s A tax on sugar-sweetened beverages research report suggests that it will reduce consumption of these drinks by 31 per cent by 2025-26, and result in government revenue of $2.8 billion across the four years which could be used for further preventative health activities.
Chapter 5: A health system for the future
Creating a health system that is ready for the future will require the sector to think outside the box when it comes to how and where healthcare is provided. To achieve this, we will need to build on the learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic, embrace new technology, and better use data to inform healthcare delivery. Chapter 5 of the AMA Pre-Budget Submission 2023-24 outlines how we need to build and fund a system that is capable of responding to future threats, such as future pandemics, climate change, and antimicrobial resistance.
