Issues related to Public finance is Health services in Australia
Public finance is basically the study of the role of government in the economy. It is known that there are several domains in an economy, and the government has certain roles and responsibilities to cater to the needs of each and every domain in the economy.
The public finance basically assesses the revenue and expenditure of an economy and makes certain adjustments that are required for achieving the desired results by minimising the undesirable outcomes.
It is evident that there can be several issues that can be faced by the government in terms of financing various facilities to the public.
In this assignment the issues related with the finance in the health sector in Australia has been discussed. Here the background of the problem has been identified along with the role of the government in generating a solution to the problem.
Healthcare is one of the major domains of the society and ethical considerations must be taken into account for the finance in health care.
The government has the responsibility to provide the healthcare facilities to the people so that each and every individual can access the health care facilities in the society and equality is maintained in terms of the distribution of the service.
Thus it can be said that financing health care services is one of the main responsibilities of the government. It is evident that a good health is essential to the welfare of human beings and it can also lead to social development and maintain sustainability in the economy.
Poor expenditure plan in the health care sector is one of the major reasons for increase in poverty. But there are several benefits that can be received by appropriate financing in the health services in the sector.
So the importance of public finance in the sector has been discussed here along with the issues and the role of government in the allocation of resources in the sector.
Background of the study:
Health economics is basically concerned with the allocation and distribution of healthcare resources in the society. In Australia there is both government as well as private institutions that caters to the need of the society for a healthcare services.
It is known that health care sector is one of the important sectors in the economy and thus various issues related with the public finance in this sector needs to be resolved so that each and every group of people can access the service in the economy.
The healthcare system of Australia is administered and funded by various levels of government (local, state/territory, national) and it is also supported by the arrangements of health insurance by the private sector.
Medicare is the national public health insurance scheme that is administered and funded by the government of Australia and there are basically three components of the service.
These are hospital treatment as a public patient, prescription pharmaceuticals and medical services (Shiller, 2012). A range of health services is funded by the state including health infrastructure, mental health services, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services, health and medical research, community health services and population health programs.
The private health insurance supports the public system. Thus the dual private and public health sector is unique and it also balances the universal health care system that is provided by the government by giving individual choice in the health care.
Almost 70% of the health care bills of the nation are paid by the government and it is registered that in the healthcare sector there has been the largest increase in the total expenditure by the government over the past nine years.
Economic Issues Related to Healthcare:
Health economics is related with the allocation and distribution of the resources in the society. But it is also evident that heath resources are scarce and thus there can be several issues that may be faced by the government in terms of allocating the resources.
The major concerns related with the healthcare resources are how they can be allocated, how it can be financed and to whom the services will be provided (Muftaudeen O and Bello, 2014). One of the major issues can be faced regarding efficient provision of the health care services.
Issues can be faced regarding the evaluation of the heath care programs and regarding the cost that needs to be borne by the consumers for the consumption of the facilities or services.
It is known that valuing the requirement of the health care facilities can be very difficult as benefits cannot be quantified that comes with the life expectancy, happiness, productivity etc. Now some of the economic issues in the health care sector in Australia can be discussed.
Issues in Health Care Sector in Australia:
Major challenges can be faced by the government of Australia in the funding as well as delivery of the health care services in Australia.
There is a higher rank of Australia in the international platform in terms of the health as they have low rate of infant mortality and high average life expectancy (Mja.com.au, 2014).
But there has been threat in the advances due to the growing burden of chronic illness and ageing population. The extensive nature and increasing number of chronic illness is creating major challenge for the society and thus the government is also facing challenges for preventing these diseases.
The main challenges for the government in the health care sector in Australia can be discussed here.
Changing Disease pattern and the Demography:
The ability of the health services is challenged by the ageing population of the community for maintaining the wellbeing and health of the society. The government need to provide support for the disabled and manage serious and continuing illness.
It is evident that the longevity can be accompanied by chronic illness and disability and thus it poses significant burden of health care costs, morbidity, and mortality (Mja.com.au, 2014).
Thus the government needs to take measures for reducing the incidence of chronic disease by taking appropriate measures. Here it can be said that the ageing of the population does not significantly contribute in the health costs for the government.
It is evident that the preventive initiatives by the government do not reach the people who are most at risk in terms of the chronic disease and most of the concentration of the chronically ill are in the acute care sector with suboptimal links with community care and the general practices.
It is important to coordinate the tertiary, secondary and primary prevention for providing better care for the seriously ill patients (Lorenz, 2012). Thus the state and federal government needs to allocate funds in this area of the health care sector.
The Costs of New Technology:
It is evident that the advancement in the medical technology increases the health care costs significantly. Some of the therapeutic and diagnostic advancements like minimally invasive surgical prostheses and procedures, biological therapeutics, radiological scanners etc can raise the cost at a considerable level (Lew et al., 2012).
These facilities are generally subsidised by the government through Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) or Medicare. The subsidy for these facilities can increase the availability of the services but it also increases the cost to the community for funding the services.
On the other hand if these facilities are not subsidised then the services cannot be enjoyed by most of the Australians.
There is an enviable record of Australia for the assessment of new pharmaceutical products on the basis of cost-effectiveness principle. But it can be said that there are still certain facilities that are not yet available to the public for their health benefits (Lew et al., 2012).
Quality and Safety:
It is very important to maintain the quality of the health care services that is provided to the community as lower quality of the service can significantly impact the lives of the people requiring the service.
It is evident that Australia has to bear $1 billion – $2 billion cost annually for several medical errors and it is found that about 50% of the errors could have been prevented as they were potentially preventable.
Australia has not acknowledged or came to terms with the medical errors. They have not adapted to the system like other industries such as aviation, nuclear power to reduce the risks for the safety of the patients. In present scenario there is still blame-allocating, fault-seeking and rigid culture tolerated in the sector.
Thus it is very important to allocate the resources to improve the system for provision of quality services to the community and increasing the safety level for the patients (Hurley, 2001).
Addressing Modernity Paradox:
Since the last century, a dramatic decrease in the mortality rates of the children has been evident. But after decades of progress a fresh threat has been encountered in the modern conditions that impair the quality of life and the life expectancy of children and babies (Glaeser, 2012).
It can also be termed as “modernity’s paradox” and due to this condition the children at present are not as healthy as they were in earlier generations. Some of the responsible afflictions include diabetes; increasing rates of obesity; low birth weight; mental health problems including behavioural disturbances, anxiety; a range of developmental disorders; childhood asthma and other allergies etc (Fletcher, 2014).
There has been an increase in the violence, aggressive behaviour and learning disabilities in children especially in the remote and rural areas. Thus effective measures should be taken for providing better health care facilities to these students.
The Consequences of Global Growth:
There are various challenges that can be faced by the due to rapid expansion of the urban population of Australia. Thus the government can face issues regarding allocating and planning for the sustainable and healthy community.
A little attention has been given to the preservation of social cohesiveness, fresh food, public safety, pedestrian amenities, and potential for pollution in the phase of increasing urbanisation (Burgess et al., 2004).
This issue basically goes beyond the town planning in terms of the architecture, industry and commerce of a city. The government need to consider international concerns as well regarding the infection transmission and various diseases.
Health Inequality:
In case of public finance it is very important that equal treatment is given to each and every individual in the community so that there is no exclusion from the consumption of the service provided by the government.
Inequality can also increase the inefficiency in the society in the provision of the service and thus it is one of the matters of concern (Berger and Messer, 2002).
In Australia it is evident that even though there has been improvement in the life expectancy of the people but the benefits are not equally shared among the population of Australia.
It is found by the Australian Institute of Health and welfare that 23,000 lesser deaths could have been achieved during 1998-2000, if equal health benefits were available to the community (Begg et al., 2008).
Conclusion:
In conclusion it can be said that, public finance is related with the financing various facilities and services for the public in a society. In this assignment several issues related with the financing in the health care sector has been discussed in Australia.
Here the measures taken by the government for financing and funding in various domains in the healthcare settings have been discussed as well.
It is seen that the healthcare sector accounts for a significant amount of expenditure by the government, and thus, efficient and effective allocation of resources is very important as there are still many challenges facing the sector, and appropriate measures are required to be taken by the government.
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