The 2003-2008 Australian Health Care Agreements--an industry perspective

This paper presents a public hospital and health care industry perspective on the development of the 2003-2008 Australian Health Care Agreements. The Australian Healthcare Association conducted a national industry consultation exercise from June to September 2002 in the lead up to the development of the next round of agreements. While acknowledging that the size of the funding commitment from the Commonwealth to the states will be the central focus of negotiations, health industry representatives identified issues of equal importance. The AHCA's linkages with other health programs need to reflect that health care has moved beyond the confines of the hospitals. Adjustments and output targets need to provide incentives to improve and reform the industry. The success of private health insurance policy has not yet translated into benefits for the public hospital sector, and any funding contingencies between the two programs cannot be justified at this time. Special priority areas such as health workforce will need specific policy and program responses.