OATSIH funded
Frequently Asked Questions - Primary Health Care Funding Review
OATSIH is undertaking a review to examine a number of models that could be used to determine how much funding organisations receive to deliver comprehensive and culturally appropriate primary health care services.
The Frequently Asked Questions page is to assist with questions organisations may have on the review.
What is the objective of the Review?
- Contribute to improved health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
- To develop a transparent and equitable funding formula.
- Increased administrative efficiency for organisations delivering health services.
Why have a Review?
- To improve transparency and fairness.
- To ensure delivery of comprehensive and culturally appropriate primary health care services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people which are value for money.
- The Government’s Strategic Review of Indigenous Expenditure recommended a review of the relationship between current grant funding for Indigenous health services and Medicare billing arrangements.
Who does this include?
- The Review includes all organisations funded in 2011-12 through the OATSIH primary health care base for delivery of comprehensive primary health care services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Please refer to the Scope page for further details.
Will the Review result in less money for organisation?
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- The Review is not a savings exercise. The overall amount of funding that OATSIH provides for primary health care service delivery will not be decreased through this process.
- An outcome of the Review is to distribute this funding more efficiently and effectively.
- We also want funding allocation to be easier for everyone to understand.
- Under this Review there is no intent to transfer responsibility for delivery of primary health care from current organisations. The Review is an examination of the distribution of funding of organisations funded in 2011—12 to deliver comprehensive primary heath care services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
How is the Review going to be done?
- The Review will occur in phases.
- KPMG has been engaged to facilitate investigation and consultation on options available.
- We will examine options, test what would happen if a change was made and talk to organisations and their representatives about the change.
When will the Review occur?
- We are conducting the Review in phases.
- Phase 1 (now until mid 2013) is where funding models are identified and pros and cons discussed with key stakeholders.
- Phase 2 (2013) is where we move to broader consultation on feasible models.
- OATSIH primary health care funding will continue throughout this time.
Why haven’t I heard about this earlier?
- We are in the early stages of the review, with initial broad consultation through the release of a Consultation Paper expected early 2013.
- Extensive Phase 2 consultation is planned for 2013. In Phase 2 input from funded organisations will be sought on the range of feasible funding models identified and the approach to improving the distribution of funding.
- NACCHO and Affiliates were advised of this Review in December 2011.
- The Department advertised for economists to assist in the Review in December 2011, marking the beginnings of investigations into possible funding models.
- Phase 1 consultation is primarily through the Consultative Group.
- Extensive Phase 2 consultation is planned for 2013.
Will this just create more red tape and less control?
- The Review aims to promote sector stability and administrative efficiency.
- The Review is looking to provide funding to make it easier to achieve the most appropriate levels of culturally appropriate service in each community.
Will the Review be accessing private information/data from personally controlled eHealth records?
- No. The Review will not use data from personally controlled eHealth records.
How does the OATSIH PHC Funding Review fit with the development of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan (the Health Plan)?
- The development of the Health Plan will inform the work of the Funding Review.
- The Health Plan will identify priorities and principles to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People which will be valuable in informing the Funding Review’s development of a funding model.
- For e.g. the Health Plan consultations will seek stakeholder views on a broad range of issues that affect health and well-being outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Comprehensive primary health care and issues of cost, availability, distance, and transport may be raised by stakeholders which will inform the development of funding model options.
- OATSIH will ensure that during the development of both the Health Plan and Funding Review recommendations of a funding model, learning’s are shared between these two projects.
When are the consultations for the Funding Review and the Health Plan being run?
- Initial input to the Funding Review is being sought through written submissions on a Consultation Paper from January 2013- April 2013.
- Workshops on the Funding Review Consultation Paper with NACCHO Affiliates and invited members are planned for the period February- March 2013
- The Funding Review Consultation Paper is the first of several opportunities for funded organisations to provide input.
- Information on the consultation approach for the Funding Review is available from the Department of Health and Ageing’s website.
- The Health Plan community consultations were conducted during September – December 2012. Further consultations will be held in mid-2013. The latest information about the Health Plan community consultations is available from the Department of Health and Ageing’s website.
Why aren’t the Health Plan and Funding Review consultations being run together?
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- Maintaining separate consultation provides stakeholders the opportunity to fully consider and contribute to each of these complex projects without unnecessary burden on their time.
- The Funding Review and the Health Plan are at different stages and targeting different stakeholders at this time.
- Health Plan consultations are to capture the views and ideas of the full breadth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders and their representatives whereas the Funding Review consultations are targeted at organisations that receive OATSIH primary health care base funding.
- Stakeholder input to the Health Plan is to inform the drafting of the Health Plan.
- Funding Review consultation in early 2013 is to obtain initial stakeholder input on funding model options under consideration, evaluation criteria and any potential barriers to implementation. Further broad consultation on the Funding Review is planned for late 2013.
