The Australian Healthcare System: A Case Study

Issues Some of these issues include funding, Medicare coverage and a lack of effective communication and understanding. Funding is the greatest barrier to the Australian healthcare system. Government health spending has increased 74% over the last decade (Kretowicz, 2013). According to The Australian Law Reform Commission, “new medical technologies have the potential to strain the capacity of the healthcare system to afford them” (n.d.). They also state that many experts believe that these new technologies could be a factor driving the increase of healthcare spending. Research funding often favors “safe” investments rather than projects that explore new ideas and does not cover the entire cost of research (Campbell & Brendan, 1978). Researchers must provide a portion of the funding themselves, resulting in wasted time and effort to seek funding elsewhere (Campbell & Brendan, 1978). Healthcare is often divided into those who can afford it and those who cannot (Kretowicz, 2013). Carol Bennett, the chief executive of the Consumers Health Forum of Australia, states that the average Australian spends $1000 per year on out-of-pocket medical expenses (Kretowicz, 2013). This causes the people who are most likely to require healthcare to not be able to afford it (Kretowicz, 2013). Although funding is an important issue in Australia’s healthcare system, Medicare also has multiple flaws.

Medicare does not cover “ambulance services, most dental examinations and treatment, most physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, eye therapy, chiropractic services, podiatry and psychology services, acupuncture (unless part of a doctor's consultation), glasses and contact lenses, hearing aids and other appliances, [or] home nursing” (Australia’s Health System, n.d.). This forces Australians to pay for many health services out-of-pocket at an extremely expensive