Week 9: Social Welfare Part 3/ HEALTH Flashcards
(24 cards)
What are the principles for assessing performance of health care systems?
- equity of outcome
- equity of access
- choice (often in tension)
- health care as a universal human right
Does Australia have a universal healthcare system?
What are the exceptions?
Yes, because people are entitled to healthcare.
Exception to this is non citizens, refugees, non residents
Why are there concerns about evolution of a 2 tiered system?
- services to the poor will be poor services
- not closing the gap
How much longer are white Australian’s living compared to Indigenous?
Men (80yrs) - Indigenous 12 years less
Women (84yrs) Indigenous 19 yrs less
Why should health be a right in Australia?
- we pay taxes
Health and social problems are closely related to??
- inequality among rich countries
- its not about the wealth of the country, its about the degree of inequality
Why is Australian health improving?
- lower smoking/drinking rates
- fewer heart attacks/stroke
- asthma/COPD death rates improving
- cancer death rates decreasing
- vaccination rates better
What could be improved in Australian health?
- obesity/diabetes is rising
- dementia rising
- kidney disease rising
- mental health high prevalence
- oral health linked to socio-economic status
what are the roles and responsibilities of commonwealth finances?
- medicare (GPS etc)
- Pharmaceutical benefits scheme
- private health insurance regulation & fiscal welfare
roles/responsibilities of states/territories?
- planning/delivery health services
- hospitals,outpatient services,public dental
- community health (though shifting)
what grants are states/territories largely dependent on?
- commonwealth grants: national health care agreements
most government spending goes to?
- hospitals
- medical services
- pharmaceuticals
- other high cost institutional-based care (residential aged care facilities)
how much of government budget do public hospitals consume?
around one third (and growing)
what is the fastest growing component of health care in australia?
pharmaceuticals
less than __% goes to community health sector and public health services?
10%
why is medicare considered essential to good health and good for society?
universal access regardless of income
how is medicare financed
1.5% levy and + 1% for high income
why is the medicare safety net deemed misplaced expenditure?
- wealthy sections of community are greatest beneficiary of safety net
- 20% australians received 55% safety net benefits, whereas 20% living in poorest areas received less than 4%
how do co-payments increase efficiency/ inefficiency
- increase when discourage unnecessary use
- decrease efficiency when discourage necessary use
what are the increasing barriers to accessing health?
- ability to pay ‘class based access’
- increase waiting times for public hospitals
- increase use of A&E instead of GPs
- increased co-payments/ cost gaps
- cost of dental care significant
- allied health for chronic disease and mental health
what is the pharmaceutical benefits scheme
- right of citizens to affordable medicines
- responsibility of commonwealth gov.
critiques of private health insurance rebate?
- lower socioeconomic groups meeting some of the cost of more affluent people who use private health services
- ‘white anting’ the public system
- subsidises queue jumping, higher care and ‘status goods’
- private system do not provide comprehensive service
- take out PHI as tax benefit, but still use public hospital system
remember: private hospital user gets medicare rebate
issues of mental health system
- limited development of community services and doubling population
- decrease in federal funding
- people struggle to get basic help
- inadequate access
- gaps in training
- human rights concern
impacts of dementia
- cause of disability
- shortage of carers
- cost over 5bil
- 50% residents in aged care facilities
