Victoria Highlights 50-50 Funding Pool Crucial For Health Reform
A transparent funding pool with 50-50 contributions from the state and Commonwealth would reform national health funding and deliver immediate benefits to patients across Australia.
Health Minister Daniel Andrews said today the only way to reshape health funding arrangements was for the Commonwealth Government to lift its investment to 50 per cent – a move which would enable thousands of extra Victorian patients to access faster health services now.
“The only way to cut elective surgery waiting lists and treat emergency department patients faster is to invest more money and do it now,” Mr Andrews said.
“The Victorian Government has boosted bottom-line funding to hospitals by 130 per cent but the Commonwealth must do its fair share too. Each year the Brumby Labor Government gives our dedicated doctors, nurses and other health clinicians additional support so that better health services can be delivered to Victorian patients.
“That’s why the 50-50 transparent funding pool proposed in the Victorian health blueprint Putting Patients First must be supported in the proposed health funding reforms.”
Treasurer John Lenders said the Commonwealth had not foreshadowed any raid on Victoria’s GST funding, instead pledging to keep the distribution of the GST up to the independent Commonwealth Grants Commission back in 2007.
“Never before has the Commonwealth proposed siphoning our GST into their budget. Until recently they said they would only reduce health funding to the states if they took over full funding for all public hospitals,” Mr Lenders said.
“The Commonwealth has now come up with a new model where the GST to the states is recycled and the Commonwealth’s share of recurrent hospital funding increases by just one percentage point over the next decade from 41 per cent to 42 per cent.”
“In fact they ruled out changes to the distribution of the states’ GST.”
“All I’ve ever said about the GST formula is that it is a matter for the Grants Commission and that it changes over time, and indeed has changed recently, but it’s not our job to politically re-assess the GST formula in terms of the distribution between the States. That is up to the independent Commission, that’s what will happen.” Wayne Swan, Media Statement 27 October 2007.
“The other thing is this, on the distribution of GST revenues to the States, Wayne’s quite right, that remains within the purview of the Grants Commission which is an independent body.” Kevin Rudd, Media Statement, 27 October 2007.
Topics: 2010, 50 percent, 50-50 Funding Pool, 50-50 transparent funding pool, Australia, Brumby Labor Government, budget, business, Commonwealth, community, Daniel Andrews, diagnosis, doctors, economic development, economic growth, Economy, elective surgery, Governance, government, GST, health care, health care reform, health clinicians, health services, hospital, infrastructure, investment, John Lenders, Kevin Rudd, monitor, news, nurses, prevention, public hospitals, public services, rural areas, society, treatment, urban areas, Victorian health blueprint Putting Patients
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