Hospital Funds 'not Enough'
Sun Herald
Sunday May 25, 2008
ANOTHER $150 million instalment will go to Australia's public hospitals but critics say the funding will not make a dent in elective surgery waiting lists.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd confirmed the allocation at the ALP Victorian branch conference in Melbourne yesterday. The funding is the second instalment of that amount in Mr Rudd's $600 million blitz on hospital waiting lists. But the Australian Medical Association said the money would do nothing to offset the effects of hundreds of thousands of people who are expected to flood the public system under Medicare surcharge changes.The association president Rosanna Capolingua said: "We have to get real about this, this is a re-announcement of money and it's a drop in the ocean. It's going to take a lot more than $150 million to mop up the damage that's caused with all of the Australians who will drop out of private health insurance and fall into the public health system."The AMA predicts between 600,000 and 1 million people will dump private cover. Dr Capolingua said the public system needed a $4 billion injection even before the changes were announced.NSW will get the largest share, $50.6 million, while Victoria will receive $36.8 million and Western Australia $13.3 million. South Australia will receive $8.1 million, the ACT $6.6 million, Tasmania $3.1 million and the Northern Territory $2.1 million. Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the money would start to flow this year.
© 2008 Sun Herald
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