CANBERRA, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Australia's system for funding its public hospitals is wasting money on avoidable costs and needs a reset, according to a new report.
The report, published by independent think tank the Grattan Institute, found that Australia's public hospitals remain under strain despite a significant increase in funding over the last decade.
It said that total public hospital funding increased from 56 billion Australian dollars (about 36.41 billion U.S. dollars) in 2014 to 87 billion Australian dollars in 2024, but that waiting times for surgeries are getting longer and staff say they are suffering from burnout.
"Australia's approach to funding hospitals is broken, and it blocks productivity," the report said.
It found that the average cost of procedures such as knee replacements can vary by thousands of dollars between high and low-cost hospitals in the same state.
If all costly hospitals reached the middle of the pack for efficiency, the Grattan Institute estimated it would save governments 1.2 billion Australian dollars every year in avoidable costs.
Australia's federal government is currently negotiating with the governments of the eight states and territories on a new five-year funding agreement for public hospitals from 2026-31.
Under a deal struck with state and territory leaders in 2023, the federal government agreed to increase its share of hospital funding to 42.5 percent by 2030 and 45 percent by 2035.
The report said that the hospital system must be reset and made more productive to deal with Australia's aging population and growing rates of chronic disease.
It said that the federal government's funding contribution should rise in line with growing demand for care and that the states and territories should reform their systems to improve efficiency, promote shorter hospital stays and help hospitals adopt best practices. ■
