Page 353 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 12 February 2013
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contributing 45 per cent to the efficient growth in public hospital funding. This contribution will rise to 50 per cent in 2017-18.
This means that beyond 2017-18 the commonwealth will contribute half of the cost of increases in the efficient cost of providing public hospital services and growth in demand. Under the former government from 2001-02 to 2008-09, the commonwealth share of ACT public hospital expenses reduced from 38 per cent of costs to just 28 per cent. This agreement delivers a sustainable funding base for the ACT public hospital system in the long term and will over time address some of those funding inequities.
In dollar terms, the ACT Treasury estimates that the agreement will provide the ACT with an additional $260 million in commonwealth health funding over the period 2014-15 to 2019-20. The agreement delivers additional commonwealth funding, an independent entity to ensure the flows of public hospital funding are going to where they are supposed to, and an independent body to set efficient prices for hospital services and an independent body to assess the performance of local hospital networks.
All public hospital funding derived from the commonwealth government must flow transparently through the national health funding pool. Enabling legislation has been developed nationally to establish a national health funding pool, which means that for the first time ever the Australian public will know where each and every public hospital dollar is being spent. The growth funding for hospital services will be based on the efficient price for hospital-type care, which will be set by the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority. Where possible, hospital services will be funded on an activity basis.
Financially, this draws the commonwealth growth funding contribution from the national health funding pool direct to the local hospital network where the services are delivered. The funds cannot be diverted elsewhere or used for some other purpose, and to ensure this the national health funding pool accounts will be audited and there will be complete transparency in recording and accounting.
The bill allows the ACT to participate in this national scheme and establishes the national health funding pool account for the ACT. The funding pool consists of a Reserve Bank of Australia account for each state and territory which will receive all commonwealth public hospital funding and state and territory public hospital funding for activity-based funded public hospital services.
The bill also establishes for the ACT the administrator of the pool, which is an independent statutory office holder whose function is to administer the payment of public hospital funding into and out of the pool in accordance with the local hospital network agreement. The national health funding pool and the administrator of the pool commenced functioning on 1 July this year and the framework for activity-based funding of public hospital services also commenced operation nationally on 1 July.
In summary, the bill provides for these national financial agreements in the ACT and is focused on establishing for the ACT the structures necessary that will allow the commonwealth growth funding to flow into the ACT in the future. These are much-needed funds for a public hospital system.
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