Canberra’s healthcare system is unique in Australia – you have only to look at the numbers to realise this.
In the 2013-14 financial year there were 239 coronary artery bypass grafts conducted in the ACT, a small number compared to 4110 in NSW or about 3400 in Victoria.
But the unique thing is more than 50 per cent of those 239 grafts were for non-ACT residents.
No other state or territory comes close to that statistic, the nearest being South Australia on 13 per cent.
It isn’t just coronary artery bypass grafts either – cataract surgeries, hip replacements and knee replacements are other examples of surgeries often conducted in the ACT for interstate residents.
Canberra is a medical hub for the larger region and it is important it is recognised as such by the federal government.
Our role as regional provider is why the ACT Health budget has continued to grow unsustainably for a number of year.
Then-health minister Katy Gallagher said in 2014 that work needed to be done to bring it under control, otherwise by 2050 it would consume the entire ACT budget.
“It’s about managing the growth of health,” she said. “It might mean you don’t have to grow the health budget at 8 per cent, you’re growing it at 6 per cent.
As Health Minister Simon Corbell pointed out this week, the government has made some progress towards this target.
New new data shows the growth of health spending in the ACT has slowed from more than 9 per cent seven years ago to about 5 per cent over the past five years.
Primary healthcare has a role to play in this – as the ACT’s new Medicare Local chair Dr Martin Liedvogel said this week if we take proper care of Canberrans with chronic or lifestyle diseases we can keep them out of hospital unless absolutely necessary.
In addition, Canberra’s surprisingly low usage of private health insurance has to be taken into consideration.
It’s a well-known fact the ACT has one of the highest uptakes of insurance but don’t often use it when we’re taken to hospital.
All health advocates in the ACT, from our Medicare Local representatives to the Healthcare Consumers Association, appear to agree Canberra’s healthcare is top-notch.
But at what cost, and how much longer can Canberra continue to provide support to a larger region without financial assistance?