Facts and Figures
Australian Health and Ageing System - The Concise Factbook - March 2011
The March edition of the Concise Factbook contains updated information on health and ageing expenditure.
Introduction
The Concise Expenditure Factbook presents expenditure statistics on the Australian health and ageing system.It contains updated information as at 10 March 2011. Data sources, category definitions and a glossary of terms are provided at the end of this publication.
A full list of acronyms and expanded glossary can be found online at http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/Glossary.
For further information on the Concise Expenditure Factbook, please contact:
Email: PESInputs@health.gov.au
or write to:
The Editor
Health and Ageing Factbook (MDP 132)
Economic and Statistical Analysis Branch
Department of Health and Ageing
GPO Box 9848
Canberra ACT 2601
Table of Contents
Table 1:Australian Government health and ageing expenses and appropriations.Table 2: Health expenditure estimates, by area of expenditure and source of funds, 2008-09.
Table 3: Health and ageing expenditure as a percentage of GDP and total national budget.
Table 4: Real total health spending per capita, 2004-05 to 2008-09.
Chart 1: Portfolio of Health and Ageing programs: Australian Government actual expenses by outcome and major
program, 2009-10.
Chart 2: Portfolio of Health and Ageing programs: Australian Government appropriations by outcome and major
program, 2010-11.
Sources
Category Definitions
Glossary
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Table 1: Australian Government health1 and ageing expenses and appropriations ($ million)2.
| Funding source and area of expenditure | Actual expenses 2008–09 ($m) | Actual expenses 2009–10 ($m) | Estimated expenses3 (at 2010 PAES) 2010–11 ($m) | Estimated expenses3 (at 2010 PAES) 2011–12 ($m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Portfolio of Health and Ageing programs | ||||
Funded through the portfolio | ||||
| Medicare Benefits Schedule3 | 14,142.1 | 15,386.5 | 16,405.4 | 16,820.8 |
| Australian Health Care Agreements | 10,278.0 | - | - | - |
| Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme3 | 7,654.7 | 8,342.0 | 9,038.2 | 9,621.0 |
| Aged and community care3 | 7,628.3 | 7,624.0 | 8,363.8 | 10,334.9 |
| Private Health Insurance Rebates4 | 3,992.7 | 4,331.8 | 4,451.6 | 3,513.1 |
| Health other1,3 | 6,256.6 | 5,662.1 | 7,037.8 | 7,658.4 |
| Departmental funding | 862.3 | 889.0 | 1,110.5 | 1,011.3 |
| Funded through the Treasury5 | ||||
| National Healthcare Agreement6 | - | 11,224.2 | 12,039.0 | - |
| National Health Reform Agreement7 | - | - | - | 12867.1 |
| National Partnerships (health) | 1,330.8 | 835.8 | 2,654.6 | 2,412.6 |
| National Partnerships (aged and community care) | 492.4 | 1,262.3 | 1,426.6 | 447.0 |
Sub totals | ||||
| Portfolio of Health and Ageing programs (health only) | 44,322.4 | 46,486.4 | 52,538.6 | 53,706.2 |
| Portfolio of Health and Ageing programs (ageing only) | 8,315.5 | 9,071.2 | 9,988.7 | 10,980.1 |
| Portfolio of Health and Ageing (total) | 52,637.9 | 55,557.6 | 62,527.3 | 64,686.3 |
Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) Programs | ||||
Funded through DVA | ||||
| Health | 3,724.7 | 3,762.3 | 3,879.7 | 3,918.5 |
| Aged and community care | 1,190.7 | 1,303.7 | 1,390.3 | 1,472.7 |
| Departmental funding | 108.8 | 128.8 | 127.9 | 124.7 |
| Funded through the Treasury5 | ||||
| Health | 1.8 | 14.3 | - | - |
| Aged and community care | 17.2 | 17.6 | 18.3 | 7.5 |
| DVA programs total | 5,043.1 | 5,226.6 | 5,416.2 | 5,523.4 |
| Other Australian Government health and aged care8 | 1,368.2 | 1,434.6 | 1,452.2 | 1,561.2 |
Totals | ||||
| All health | 49,505.3 | 51,801.0 | 57,974.3 | 59,287.0 |
| All ageing | 9,543.9 | 10,417.9 | 11,421.5 | 12,483.9 |
| All health and ageing | 59,049.2 | 62,218.9 | 69,395.7 | 71,770.9 |
| Budget papers’ “Health Function”9 | 49,146.0 | 52,355.0 | 52,356.0 | 52,357.0 |
Notes:
1. ‘Health’ excludes sport and recreation programs which were transferred to the portfolio of Prime Minister and Cabinet in October 2010.
2. Australian Government appropriated expenses, revenue from other sources, unfunded expenses, expenses not requiring appropriation in Budget year and operating surplus/deficit.
3. As at the 2010-11 Budget Portfolio Additional Estimates released February 2011. ATO and Medicare figures are 2010 Budget.
4. Excludes amounts allocated to the Contingency Reserve for 2009-10 for the financial impact of premium growth (for April-June 2010). The Private Health Insurance Rebates delivered through the tax system (for example, $171m in 2008-09) are included in ‘Other Australian Government Health’.
5. Under the Federal Financial Relations Framework, Treasury is appropriated for specific purpose payments to the states and territories for programs which are the policy responsibility of relevant portfolio Ministers. The Framework has been implemented in stages from 1January 2009. Expenditure data updated as of 2010-11 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
6. The National Healthcare Agreement provides broadbanded program funding for public hospitals and population health. In 2008-09, the public hospital (DoHA outcome 13) and population health (DoHA outcome 1) programs which are now part of the NHA comprised 97.6% and 2.4% respectively of their combined total.
7. All states and territories signed the National Health Reform Agreement at the February 2011 COAG meeting. Funding under this agreement will commence from 2011-12; details are still to be finalised.
8. Includes private health insurance rebates paid through the Australian Tax Office (ATO), the ATO’s Medical Expenses Tax Offset, and Medicare Australia’s health and aged care related departmental expenses.
9. Not directly comparable to the ‘All health’ figure in the table because of slightly different definitions and scope, such as differences in the methodology of calculating the Budget papers ‘Health Function’.
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Table 2: Health expenditure estimates, by area of expenditure and source of funds, 2008-09 ($b current dollars).
| Area of expenditure | Australian Government | State and local government | Individuals | Other private | Total1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitals | 15.7 | 18.3 | 1.9 | 6.4 | 42.4 |
| Medical services | 15.5 | - | 2.4 | 2.0 | 19.8 |
| Other health practitioners | 1.2 | - | 1.4 | 0.8 | 3.4 |
| Benefit paid pharmaceuticals | 7.5 | - | 1.5 | - | 8.9 |
| Other medications | 0.4 | - | 5.8 | 0.1 | 6.3 |
| Dental services | 1.0 | 0.6 | 4.1 | 1.1 | 6.8 |
| Community health | 0.7 | 4.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 5.6 |
| Other recurrent | 6.4 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 14.6 |
| Medical expenses tax offset | 0.5 | .. | -0.5 | .. | - |
| Capital | 0.1 | 2.7 | ... | 2.9 | 5.7 |
| Total health expenditure1,2 | 48.8 | 29.8 | 19.5 | 15.4 | 113.5 |
| Total health expenditure (%) | 43.0 | 26.3 | 17.2 | 13.5 | 100.0 |
Notes:
1. Totals may differ from sum of components due to rounding.
2. Information from this table is not directly comparable to Table 1, due to differences in definitions.
Table 3: Health and ageing expenditure as a percentage of GDP and total national budget.
| Spending indicator | Latest year (%) | 2006–07 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio of Health and Ageing programs1expenditure as percentage of Australian Government (national) budget (2010–11)2 | 17.6% | 16.4% |
| Total health expenditure as percentage of GDP (2008–09) | 9.0% | 8.7% |
| Australian Government health funding as percentage of GDP (2010-11)2,3,4 | 4.1% | 3.7% |
| State, territory and local government health funding as percentage of GDP (2008–09)3 | 2.4% | 2.2% |
1. Includes programs which are the policy responsibility of the Minister for Health and Ageing and now funded through appropriations to Treasury under the Federal Financial Relations Framework.
2. 2010-11 figures are estimated actual expenses as at the Budget Portfolio Additional Estimates released February 2011.
3. Comparison between Australian Government health funding in 2010-11 and state and local government health expenditure in 2008-09 should be made with caution, due to definitional differences in data sources and reference years.
4. Includes funding by the Health and Ageing portfolio, Treasury, Medicare Australia, Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Australian Taxation Office.
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Table 4: Real total health spending per capita, 2004–05 to 2008–09 (constant 2008-09 prices).
 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constant $ | 4,536 | 4,596 | 4,788 | 5,009 | 5,221 |
| Growth (%) | 5.1% | 1.3% | 4.2% | 4.6% | 4.2% |
Chart 1
Chart 2
Sources
Table 1 Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) and portfolio agencies: Annual Reports (2008-09 and 2009-10) and Budget Portfolio Additional Estimates 2010–11. DVA: Annual Reports (2008-09 and 2009-10) and Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2010–11. Department of the Treasury: 2008-09 Final Budget Outcome. DoHA: unpublished. ATO: Annual Reports, Tax Expenditures Statements, Taxation Statistics. Medicare Australia: unpublished.Table 2 AIHW, Health Expenditure Australia 2008-09, unpublished data cubes (March 2011).
Table 3 First row: Annual Reports of DoHA, Department of Health and Ageing portfolio agencies; ABS Australian National Accounts. Second and fourth rows: AIHW, Health Expenditure Australia 2008-09, Health and welfare expenditure series no.42. Cat. no. HWE 51. Canberra: AIHW. Third row: Annual Reports of DoHA, Department of Health and Ageing portfolio agencies; DVA, ATO; ATO Australian Taxation Statistics; Medicare Australia (unpublished); ABS Australian National Accounts.
Table 4 AIHW, Health Expenditure Australia 2008-09, Health and welfare expenditure series no.42. Cat. no. HWE 51. Canberra AIHW. AIHW, Health Expenditure Australia 2008-09, unpublished data cubes (March 2011).
Chart 1 Portfolio of Health and Ageing 2009-10 Annual Report and The Department of Treasury 2010-11 Portfolio Budget Statements.
Chart 2 Portfolio of Health and Ageing 2010-11 Budget Portfolio Additional Estimates released February 2011. Department of The Treasury 2010-11 Mid-Year Economic and Financial Outlook.
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Category definitions
Table 1 - ‘Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme’ includes Section 100 pharmaceuticals.- ‘Department of Veterans’ Affairs (Health)’ includes hospital services (e.g. Repatriation Private Patients Scheme), Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Local Medical Officer scheme, rehabilitation services, etc.
- ‘Department of Veterans’ Affairs (Aged and community care)’ includes residential aged care, and home and community care services.
Table 2 - ‘Other private’ sources of funds includes private health insurers (net of the Australian Government rebates), compulsory motor vehicle third party insurers, workers’ compensation insurers, and other non-government sources.
- ‘Hospitals’ excludes dental, community health, public health services, patient transport services, and research undertaken by public hospitals. Can include services provided off the hospital site such as hospital-in-the-home, dialysis, or other services. Includes Highly Specialised Drugs Program expenditure.
- ‘Medical services’ includes Australian Government benefits paid through Medicare for GP, specialist, optometrist, diagnostic imaging, pathology and other medical services; expenditure on bulk-billed GP and specialist services for veterans; payments to support medical practice in Australia (e.g. grants to Divisions of GPs, practice incentives etc).
- ‘Other health practitioners’ includes health professionals other than GPs, specialists and dentists (e.g. physiotherapists).
- ‘Other medications’ includes pharmaceuticals for which no government benefit was paid (e.g. non-prescription medicines, prescription medicines priced below the patient co-payment threshold, etc).
- ‘Medical Expenses Tax Offset’ is the reimbursement through the taxation system of 20% of net medical expenses above a specified annual threshold.
Table 3 - ‘Australian Government health funding’ includes health funding by the portfolio of Health and Ageing, Medicare Australia, Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Australian Taxation Office. Note: This definition is different to the AIHW’s definition of Australian Government expenditure on health in Health expenditure Australia 2008-09.
Charts - ‘Health and Ageing portfolio estimated actual expenses and appropriations’ includes Australian Government appropriations and expenses only. Excludes revenue from other sources.
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GlossaryAppropriation - an authorisation by Parliament to spend moneys from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for a particular purpose. Applies to current budget year and budget forward estimates.
Australian Health Care Agreements (Public Hospital Funding) - Australian Government funding to the states and territories to support free public hospital services is provided through five-year agreements between the Australian Government and each state and territory government.
Consolidated Revenue Fund - the principal operating fund of the Commonwealth Government, financed by pooling Commonwealth revenue from taxation, fees and other sources.
Current $ (prices) - the dollar value expressed in terms of the prices in the year of expenditure.
Constant $ (prices) - the dollar value expressed in terms of the prices in a chosen (or reference) year, i.e. adjusted to remove the effects of price inflation between the year of expenditure and the chosen (or reference) year. The change between figures based on constant dollars measures the ‘real’ increase or decrease.
Gross domestic product (GDP) - the total economic value of goods and services produced in a country (including foreign investment and earning in Australia and excluding income from investments and earnings by Australians overseas).
Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) - services eligible for Australian Government benefits under the Medicare Benefits Schedule. Includes GP and specialist attendances, obstetrics, operations, anaesthetics, pathology, diagnostic imaging, selected optometry, dental and other medical and allied health services.
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) - the provision, funded by the Australian Government, of subsidised or free prescription pharmaceuticals provided through community pharmacies (under Section 85 of the National Health Act 1953) or through alternative arrangements (under Section 100 of the National Health Act 1953).
A full list of acronyms and expanded glossary can be found online at http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/Glossary.
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