I am delighted to introduce a new fortnightly feature at Croakey: The Health Wrap. It will link you into some of the interesting and important health news from the previous fortnight, including items covered at Croakey and elsewhere. Kellie Bisset, an experienced health and medical journalist/editor who is communications director at the Sax Institute (follow [...]

For those wondering about the Coalition’s plans for health policy, some hints emerged when Opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton spoke at an Australian Institute of Company Directors meeting this morning. Thanks to Dr Stephen Duckett, health program director at the Grattan Institute, for his tweet-reports, as per below:

This post offers an overview of health-related news from the Budget and a wrap of reaction. Here are links to: • Health and Ageing Budget statements • A table giving a quick overview of health spends and cuts • Ministerial press releases • Closing the Gap press release • The Treasurer’s speech ***

With less than a week to go before the Federal Budget 2013, the leaks and rumours (and rumours about leaks) are increasing and speculation about possible new funding measures is mounting. The following analysis looks at the main items on the wish-lists of eight peak health groups and identifies key issues on which there is [...]

As Q and A wrapped up on Monday night, one particularly poignant tweet caught my eye. “Just tells you how much we don’t matter.” It was one of a series of tweets from a Wiradjuri woman, Kath Grant, who lives in Sydney (you can see them at the bottom of this post). She was disappointed [...]

There is some essential new reading for those concerned with primary care and related reforms, according to health policy analyst Jennifer Doggett. In the article below, she reviews Primary Care and General Practice in Australia 1990-2012: A Chronology of Federal Government Strategies, Policies, Programs and Funding,  by Dr Lesley Russell from the Australian Primary Health [...]

The availability of high-speed broadband in rural and remote areas will be a critical election issue if rural health advocates have their way. The 12th National Rural Health Conference in Adelaide made 17 priority recommendations for advancing the health of rural and remote communities, with equitable access to high-speed broadband at the top of the [...]

An important national agreement on Closing the Gap in Indigenous Health Outcomes is due to expire at the end of June. As future funding arrangements are developed, it is important that decision making is informed by reliable data and contextual understanding, says Selwyn Button, CEO of the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council. *** For [...]