The Rudd Government will deliver a massive $64.4 billion to boost health and hospital funding and drive reform including through an historic National Healthcare Agreement.
This is an increase of more than $20 billion, or 50 per cent, over the last agreement.
This will help rebuild our hospitals, deliver more doctors and nurses, and tackle key pressure points in the public hospital system.
It will also deliver significant reforms, with stringent accountability measures, performance reporting, and reward payments for meeting set targets.
The $64.4 billion investment consists of:
* An extra $4.8 billion for public hospitals
* $1.1 billion to train more doctors, nurses and other health professionals
* $750 million to take pressure off emergency departments. This is the equivalent of funding an extra 1.9 million emergency department services. This one off payment provides additional funds to support emergency departments that are providing an increasing number of primary care services as a result of GP shortages created by the Howard Government.
* $500 million in measures to provide additional sub-acute care. Sub-acute care beds improve health outcomes, quality of life, productivity and reduce hospital readmission rates. They enable many older people to leave hospital and will help free up hospital beds.
* $450 million in a Preventative Health National Partnership
* $800 million in an Indigenous Health National Partnership
The extra $4.8 billion for public hospitals includes an increase to base funding of $500 million, and an annual indexation rate of 7.3 per cent. This growth rate will help put the Commonwealth funding contribution on a sustainable long-term basis.
This is compared to the last agreement under the Howard Government which cut $1 billion from public hospital funding and provided an average indexation rate of only 5.3 per cent.
The additional ongoing resources provided by the Rudd Government will be able to provide the equivalent of:
* 350,000 additional emergency department presentations and
* 200,000 additional same day stays and
* 170,000 additional overnight stays and
* 2.5 million extra services in clinics attached to hospitals.
The new, more transparent system of performance reporting will include reporting on areas including superbug infection rates and other adverse events. It will also allow implementation of a nationally consistent system of activity-based funding.
This will drive improved quality of care, efficiency and innovation.
This historic agreement demonstrates the Rudd Government's determination to work with the States and Territories to end the blame game and help rebuild our public hospitals.
The funding will be distributed as follows:
* $20.5 billion for NSW
* $15.5 billion for Victoria
* $12.4 billion for Queensland
* $6.2 billion for Western Australia
* $4.9 billion for South Australia
* $1.4 billion for Tasmania
* $900 million for the ACT
* $570 million for the Northern Territory