Spending on public health and private insurance up
Expenditure on public health in Australia grew by 5.5% in 2008-09 to $2.3 billion, an increase of $120 million on what was spent the previous year, according to a report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Australia has also reached its highest rate of private hospital insurance participation in more than nine years, with 44.9% of the population covered.
“This continues real growth in public health expenditure which has averaged 7.3% per year since 1999-00,” said report co-author Gail Brien, referring to public health expenditure.
Public health focuses on prevention, promotion and protection rather than on treatment, looking at populations rather than individuals, and on the factors and behaviours that cause illness.
The report, Public health expenditure in Australia 2008-09, also shows that spending on public health as a proportion of total health expenditure was 2.1%, slightly down on the previous year’s figure of 2.2%.
The largest areas of growth in 2008–09 were in selected health promotion which grew by 15.8% and screening programs (12.7%).
Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, welcomed the continued growth of private health insurance, which she says further points to the strength of the private health insurance sector, but again foreshadowed the Government’s intention to better target the Private Health Insurance Rebate away from the richest in society.
Private hospital insurance cover grew by 2.5% in 2010, outstripping population growth of 1.7%.
Under the Government’s proposed changes, the Private Health Insurance Rebate will be provided to all singles earning up to $124,000 per year, or couples on less than $248,000. Treasury modelling estimates that, after these changes, 99.7% of people will remain in private health insurance.
More information is at www.phiac.gov.au/for-industry/industry-statistics/
