1997-1998
Australia's Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, Budget Document 1997-98
The Budget provides $14.7 million to extend funding for the Palliative Care Program in 1997-98.
Fact Sheet 9
Commonwealth extends palliative care funding
The Budget provides $14.7 million to extend funding for the Palliative Care Program in 1997-98. The funding of palliative care in future years will then come under consideration in the context of the negotiation of new Medicare Agreements which will take effect on 1 July 1998.The program was established in 1993-94, with an allocation of $55 million (1993-94 prices) over the four-year life of the program. Its aims are to:
- ensure adequate and appropriate services are available;
- prevent inappropriate admission to hospitals of terminally ill patients in need of palliative care and to reduce lengths of stay for these patients;
- maximise and promote the quality of life of terminally ill patients and support for their families and carers; and
- ensure that appropriate use is made of the resources and experience of non-government (private/volunteer) providers.
The $14.7 million dedicated to the program in the 1997-98 Budget will also restore funding to the levels of 1995-96, before the program was affected by broad banding savings that reduced funding in 1996-97. This will enable continued funding of services and of the development of arrangements for the main streaming of palliative care in future Medicare Agreements.
Funds for 1997-98 will be provided in conjunction with the current Schedule G of the Medicare Agreements, not separately as they were during the 1993-97 Palliative Care Program. For 1997-98, total Commonwealth funding under the program and Schedule G of the Medicare Agreements will be an estimated $27.8 million.
A review of the program has identified that the Commonwealth funding has provided up to two-thirds of the funds dedicated specifically to the delivery of palliative care services. The development of palliative care services across Australia was accelerated by the funding from the program over the past four years.
The Commonwealth's total support for palliative care is not limited to the Palliative Care Program and the Medicare Agreements, but includes extra dedicated or generally accessible funding. These areas include:
- acute care services funded through the Hospital Funding Grants (which total $5 billion nationally);
- subsidies provided through the Medical Benefits and Pharmaceutical Benefits Schemes; and
- services such as community nursing, personal care, home help and meals on wheels funded under the Home and Community Care (HACC) program.
Contact: Bob Wells, Assistant Secretary, State Financing Branch, Health Services Development Division, (06) 289 8579
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