New public hospital funding deal "will not be enough", doctors warn

On 30 January, Anthony Albanese announced in a statement that National Cabinet had met in Sydney and reached “a landmark agreement” to deliver record funding to state and territory hospitals and secure the future of the NDIS. As part of this deal, Albanese also stated that the Australian Government would provide $25 billion in additional funding for public hospitals.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) responded with a same-day statement that welcomed the new public hospital funding agreement, and additional funding of $25 billion from the Australian Government, but also warned that, without further reform: “the new deal alone will not be enough to stem the decline in hospital performance”.

“The additional funding announced by the Prime Minister in this agreement is welcome and long overdue and it will be critical for states and territories to ensure they lift their own funding levels as well,” AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said in a 30 January statement.

“However, our own modelling would suggest that today’s announcement alone will not be enough to stop the decline in hospital performance, with patients waiting too long for emergency surgery, longer waits for essential surgery and ambulance ramping,” McMullen added.

“The additional funding will make a difference, but it is unlikely to reach the 45% of total costs by 2030 the AMA has been calling for on behalf our doctors and their patients.”

In the same 30 January statement, McMullen acknowledged: “We are going to have to wait to see the detail to properly assess the impact of today’s agreement. No mention was made of reaching a set percentage of Commonwealth funding, what year it will be reached, or whether the cap on growth will be scrapped to give hospitals the extra headroom they need to meet community demand.”

In its statement, AMA also noted that an expert review into the failures of the national health reform agreement was commissioned by all governments, with 45 clear, reform-focused recommendations being provided to all health ministers.

“Despite having a clear roadmap on what is needed from their own review, we are yet to hear how this new agreement will address those recommendations to clear the hospital logjam,” McMullen said.

“It’s clear that while we welcome the extra funding secured through years of advocacy, the detail of the new agreement will show if genuine improvement is going to be possible for our hospitals as patients have been waiting long enough.”

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