Healthy Australia

The Business Council of Australia advocates greater competition between health services to provide more efficient, equitable and financially sustainable health care that increases life expectancy and quality of life.

Australian governments will be unable to continue to fund current health and aged care services in the future without substantial increases in taxes or reductions in the quality of health and aged care services.

This stems from both our ageing population and continuing increases in healthcare costs.

This fiscal crisis can be averted if new health policies are introduced that encourage more competition between health services to provide better patient-centred care, and if we can successfully provide incentives for individuals to manage more of their own health and care.

• Long-term Funding of Health and Ageing: The Rising Pressure on Commonwealth and State Budgets