Expenditure on health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 2008-09: an analysis by remoteness and disease

In 2008-09, health expenditure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people varied across remoteness areas, service types and disease groupings. The greatest difference in expenditure between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians was in Remote and very remote areas where, for every dollar spent per non-Indigenous Australian, $2.41 was spent per Indigenous Australian. Expenditure on genitourinary diseases, and mental and behavioural disorders, accounted for the highest proportions of admitted patient expenditure for Indigenous Australians (11% and 10% respectively). Additional analysis has been undertaken in the 2008-09 report to include expenditure on potentially preventable hospitalisations.