AMA Releases Access Economics Report on the 2007-08 Federal Health Budget

AMA Vice President, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, said the Access Economics report, commissioned annually by the AMA, puts Budget health spending into context with total Budget outlays and with previous Health Budgets, and examines any likely longer-term impacts.

"On Budget night the AMA welcomed many of the health spending announcements but felt much more funding should have been committed to health in these so-called 'prosperous' times for the nation," Dr Yong said.

"The Access Report has arrived at a similar conclusion - there were many good things in this Health Budget, but others just scratched the surface of meeting health needs.

"The Government rightly identified health priority areas such as aged care, combating obesity, dental care, consultant physician items for chronic disease care, and after hours GP services. But, overall, the funding didn't go far enough, especially for Indigenous health and rural health.

"As always, the lack of significant Indigenous health funding has been the great failing of the Budget. The AMA called for a minimum of $460 million recurrent new Indigenous health funding each year, but the Budget delivered far less.

"The AMA will be looking for big picture health funding initiatives in the election campaign later in the year," Dr Yong said.

Key observations of the Access Economics report include:

• The 2007-08 Budget holds health spending about constant as a share of total outlays. The forward estimates predict a falling share (a tough call).
• Health spending is dispensed from a magic bucket, which never overflows no matter how much new funding is poured in (in this budget alone, $4.6b of health and aged care over 5 years). The forward estimates of health spending no longer have much credibility. More than half the new health measures are remedial in character.
• Remedial spending is not bad. It is essential. It just cannot be "sold" as new money. The remedial programs are well judged save for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health where the wind-up in spending is taking far too long.
• This Health Budget scores high marks for realigning health spending priorities to better meet the needs of an ageing population suffering more chronic disease.
• A number of individual new spending initiatives also score high marks for their design and their intelligent focus on areas with real opportunities to improve health outcomes.
• Yet some others must be regarded as down payments only, with rather more effort required in future.

To view the complete Access Economics report follow the link.