Spending on health services in Australia last financial year
rose by $3.3 billion to $50.3 billion-a real growth rate of 5.3%,
the highest for the last nine years, according to figures released
today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
The average annual real growth rate since the beginning of the
decade had been 4.1% per year.
Health expenditure as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) has also increased. Between 1992-93 and 1997-98 the health
spending to GDP ratio increased slowly from 8.2 to 8.3%, but has
now risen to 8.5%.
Health Expenditure Bulletin No. 16: Australia's Health
Services Expenditure to 1998-99 shows that $2,671 per person
was spent on health services for the year-an increase of $148 per
person or 4.1% on the previous year.
The figures also show a 9.6% real increase in the Commonwealth
Government's funding of health services. This, on top of a 6.1%
real increase in the previous year (1997-98) took the
Commonwealth's share of funding from 44.6% in 1996-97 to 47.1% in
1998-99.
The State and local government funding share increased
marginally from 22.4% to 22.9% over the same two-year period, while
the non-government sector's contribution fell from 33.1% to
30.0%.
According to the AIHW's Principal Economist, John Goss, the
substantial increase in the Commonwealth's funding was 'in large
part due to the impact of the government's private health insurance
incentives, including the 30% rebate on private health
insurance'.
'Its effect was to increase Commonwealth Government expenditure
in real terms by 2.4%.'
'An 11% increase in funding to the States and Territories under
the new Australian Health Care Agreements and a 23% increase in
spending on health services by the Department of Veterans' Affairs
were also contributors to the higher than average growth.'
16 June 2000
Further information: John Goss, AIHW, tel. 02
6244 1151, or Tony Hynes, AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1160.
For media copies of the report: Publications Officer,
tel. 02 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for availability.