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Primary health care reform update

The final report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission - A Healthier Future for all Australians - was released in July 2009 after receiving over 280 public submissions during its 16 months of consultation and development.

The report indicates that Australia’s health system is under growing pressure from an aging population and increasing levels of chronic illness. The Commission reports a fragmented health system with a complex division of funding responsibilities and performance accountabilities and identifies actions that can be taken against three reform goals:

• Tackle access and equity issues that currently affect health outcomes
• Redesign the Australian health system so that it is better positioned to respond to emerging challenges 
• Create a health system that is sustainable in the long term

The Federal Government is now calling for written feedback on the proposed reforms to seek further advice and views prior to deciding what health reform should be undertaken. A group with 24 representatives from peak stakeholder organisations with an active interest in primary health care, including GP NSW, attended a Primary Health Care Forum meeting with Health and Ageing Minister Nicola Roxon at Parliament House, Canberra on Monday 23 November 2009.

Representatives from private health insurers and private hospitals attended a Private Health Stakeholder Consultation at Parliament House on Wednesday, 25 November 2009.

The Federal government will discuss the report with the state governments at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting on the 7th of December 2009. The federal government’s detailed response, which will be finalised in early 2010, is expected to endorse a number of the Commission’s recommendations, including those relating to the role of General Practice in the primary care reforms.