Live updates: Are you struggling to access basic health care? Australians share their stories
An Australian public hospital specialist argues that the 2012 National Health Reform Agreement is failing to address long wait times for outpatient care. The article suggests that current funding models incentivize underreporting and inefficiency, calling for a shift away from Medicare-based billing for public specialist services.
Why it matters
It highlights systemic funding issues in the Australian public health system that directly impact patient access to specialist care.
Can the National Health Reform Agreement improve public specialist wait times? T By Tessa Flemming
I think the national health reform agreement 2012 is partly to blame for long public specialist wait times. This is because oublic hospitals have addressed inefficiency in inoatient care but still struggle at the 55% share of costs- this was meant to be 50% commonwealth/state. The loser is outpatient care where hospitals use outnoded medicare billing vs NHRA funding. State health services are underfunding outpatient care by underreporting activity and this way they avoid the 55% co pay. For context, i am a metropolitan public hospital specialist of 35 years and have never been less busy!
Yes, the national reform agreement should do a lot more to reduce specialist wait times.
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