1999-2000
Taking Australia into the century of healing - the 1999-2000 health budget in synopsis
The 1999-2000 Federal Health Budget sets Australia on exciting, new strategic directions in health care and takes us into the century of healing.The Budget contains major, innovative proposals that will produce long-term benefits and will dramatically improve health care, both now and for future generations of Australians.
Dr Michael Wooldridge
Minister for Health and Aged Care
MW/9911 May 1999
Taking Australia into the century of healing - the 1999-2000 health budget in synopsis
The 1999-2000 Federal Health Budget sets Australia on exciting, new strategic directions in health care and takes us into the century of healing.
The Budget contains major, innovative proposals that will produce long-term benefits and will dramatically improve health care, both now and for future generations of Australians.
Spending on new health initiatives exceeds $1 billion over the next four years.
Highlights of the Budget include:
- A dramatic doubling of research spending with a funding increase of $614 million over the next six years. This will create new opportunities for Australian researchers and offer an unprecedented future for Australians by enhancing our capacity to tackle major diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
- A shift in focus to primary health care and enhanced quality in general practice. This shift includes a clear focus on prevention and on better co-ordination of care, particularly for older Australians and those with chronic illnesses. The revitalisation of general practice in primary health care is a landmark move. New Medicare items for enhanced primary care measures total more than $110 million and additional measures for general practice total more than $171 million.
- Access to health care and quality in health care are important priorities. Initiatives in this Budget benefit those people in greatest need of more and better health care services, in particular Australians living in rural communities and remote areas and Indigenous Australians. Rural initiatives will receive around $171 million and spending on health care for Indigenous Australians will be almost $100 million. A range of measures will also be implemented to improve the quality of health care.
- This Budget also contains a new 'lifetime' approach to private health insurance, known as 'Lifetime Health Cover'. This builds on the existing 'community rating' system by putting in place, a new, fairer and workable 'lifetime' approach. This system will attract younger members, reward long term membership, stop 'hit and run' membership (where people sign up temporarily for costly surgery and then leave the system), cut costs over time, and counter adverse selection. Strengthening the private health insurance sector in this way will take pressure off the public hospital system and protect its long-term viability for all Australians.
