Privatising Medicare: the increasing out-of-pocket expenditure on medical care and health in Australia

Abstract

The out-of-pocket (OOP) cost of medical care and health in Australia increased by 25.4% between 2009-10 and 2015-16 according to recent figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This was much greater than the 15.3% growth in the total household expenditure on all goods and services during the same period. This comparatively large increase in OOP expenditure is not new, according to estimates compiled by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare from various administrative records. In this presentation we will discuss our detailed analysis of the data on OOP expenditure using the two most recent Household Expenditure Surveys conducted by the ABS. Policy implications and suggestions for curtailing the increasing OOP expenditure on medical care and health will also be discussed.