Funding the essentials: the Australian Health Care Agreements, 2003-2008

This editorial reviews a number of papers in a special issue of the Australian Health Review covering the Australian Health Care Agreements to be concluded by June 2003. These include a report on consultations by the Australian Healthcare Association with industry representatives from July-October 2002. For hospitals, the agreements will set the main financial parameters for the next five years. Apart from the quantum of Commonwealth grants, the issues seen as most important involved linkages with primary care providers and aged care facilities, the dominance of inpatient work in current arrangements, workforce planning and public/private sector relationships. The possibility of recent private health insurance changes reducing the sums available for public hospitals was noted. Some estimates are presented of the possible effects of private insurance reform, together with some data from a special AHA survey of public hospital activity this year.