A National Health and Hospitals Network for Australia's Future
Foreword
This Government was elected with a mandate to prepare Australia for the challenges of the future.
One of our greatest challenges is to ensure that future generations will enjoy world class, universally accessible health care — the quality of care that has helped deliver Australians the third longest life expectancy in the world.
As this document makes clear, Australia’s health and hospital services are struggling to keep pace with the unrelenting growth in demand.
The Third Intergenerational Report released this year showed that these pressures will only intensify as a result of the ageing of the population. In addition, demand for high standards of care will place pressure on the Government to increase expenditure, as will technological innovation.
Without major changes, as rising health costs outstrip revenue growth, state budgets will be at risk of being overwhelmed.
If Australians are to continue to enjoy access to world class health care, we must undertake far reaching reform of our health and hospital system now.
The Government’s National Health Reform Plan will deliver the most significant reforms to health and hospitals since the introduction of Medicare. It will also deliver one of the biggest reforms to the federation in its history. It will provide better health and better hospitals.
This document sets out major structural reforms to establish the financing and governance foundations of a National Health and Hospitals Network for Australia’s future.
The Government expects that these reforms will permanently establish the Commonwealth Government as the majority funder of hospitals and place the Australian health system onto a
sustainable and self-improving footing for the future.
They will create a nationally unified and locally controlled National Health and Hospitals Network.
The National Health and Hospitals Network will build on the major health reforms the Government has already delivered: record funding for public hospitals, increased numbers of elective surgery procedures, taking the pressure off emergency departments, and a record investment in training more doctors and nurses.
The reforms will also build on the strengths of our current health system, such as access to primary health care through Medicare, and free public hospital treatment for public patients
— and ensure that these remain sustainable into the future.
The National Health Reform Plan represents not just reform to health and hospitals — this is also a major economic reform that will underpin the sustainability of public finances in our
federation.
We thank Dr Christine Bennett and her fellow Commissioners for their work on A Healthier Future for all Australians, the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission’s Final Report, which provides the roadmap for our National Health Reform Plan.
The Australian Government is committed to acting now to tackle our nation’s long-term challenges. The National Health and Hospitals Network will play a key role in tackling those challenges and building Australia’s future — so that all Australians can enjoy access to high quality, efficient and sustainable health care in the decades ahead.
The Hon. Kevin Rudd MP
Prime Minister
The Hon. Wayne Swan MP
Treasurer
The Hon. Nicola Roxon MP
Minister for Health and Ageing
March 2010back to top
