Category: Featured

What are the four ways we can keep private health insurance premiums lower?

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Australia’s private health insurance system is under strain. Despite government efforts to encourage more Australians to take up private health insurance, rising premiums and policy changes have driven membership numbers to 11-year lows.

Hospital benefits and allied health benefit payments have contributed most ($4 billion) of the $5 billion increase in benefits payments since 2013. Medical device benefits and surgeon benefits have driven a much smaller portion of overall growth in benefit payments. At the same time, PHI fund operating expenditure and margins have grown relative to payouts.

The medical device industry has been the sole contributor to reducing cost pressures on PHI premiums, through the 2017 Agreement with Minister Hunt. Devices have not been a key driver of premium increases, with the benefit paid per device declining 1% p.a. over this period. Devices represent only 9% of premium revenue growth since FY2013, with growth in device benefits driven entirely by demand.

The report identifies four specific buckets of savings that combined could put downward pressure on premiums in the order of $1B by 2022:

  • Streamline insurer opex
  • premium restraint from the most profitable providers
  • optimise models of care
  • reshape the allied health offering

Over the last five years, insurers have collected 50% more profit from each of their members. This has far outpaced the 21% growth in benefits paid out. Operational costs have also outpaced benefit payouts, growing by 28%.

If top performing private health insurance funds constrained their premium growth directly – while still sustaining profitability, $210million can be saved in premium increases for consumers.

Private Health funds have not extracted sufficient economies of scale in the wake of significant revenue growth and many funds are well above the industry average of 9% in operational expenditure. Marketing alone is estimated to be $400m, which is 18% of operating expenses. With improved efficiencies, such as through consolidation of smaller funds, $210million can be saved.

Policy levers such as reducing the number of potentially preventable hospitalisations (PPH), reducing overtreatment of patients, promoting care in the community and reducing readmissions can provide a $290m saving to private health insurance premiums.

Optimising models of care is important for short term savings, and critical for the longer-term sustainability of the health system.

For example, there are a number of measures that have proven to substantially reduce the incidence of falls in the elderly (removing rugs, regular exercise, vitamin and calcium supplements), which are a significant contributor to PPH.

Reshaping allied health to deliver better value for consumers can generate $250m worth of savings. The Federal Government has already implemented reforms which exclude ‘natural’ therapies for which there is no evidence of medical benefit. Insurers could continue to tighten the rules around benefit payouts for alternative therapies for which there is no evidence base.

Medical technologies can improve preventive and primary care greatly improve healthcare outcomes while also reducing costs. Telehealth, remote diagnosis, patient monitoring apps and even advances in home movement monitoring for ‘at risk’ patients can all reduce costs to the system. Many of these devices are not covered by private health insurance and there is often no consistent public funding pathway to facilitate widespread adoption.

NIB boss calls for abolition of Medicare

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]He described Medicare as a “government monopoly” whilst warning of a growing crisis facing private health insurers over burgeoning costs.

“(The) sensible policy approach would be to make private health insurance compulsory for all Australians with taxation devoted to subsidising the premiums for those who would otherwise be left behind,” Mr Fitzgibbon wrote in an opinion piece for The Australian Financial Review.

“That is, high-income earners would at one end of the scale pay the entire premium while at the other, those with low income fully subsidised.”

This comes as Health Minister Greg Hunt flags the ‘next stage’ of private health insurance reforms, saying he met with private hospitals, private health insurers and other medical leaders: “we’ve got to work on those cost drivers. So, we dealt with prostheses last time, they’ll be coming back to me shortly, those three groups with their suggestions and their proposals”.

The op-ed also came on the back of a report published last week by think tank the Grattan Institute which suggested that the private health insurance industry was in a “death spiral”, a suggestion that Mr Fitzgibbon dismissed, saying “the industry is doing well”.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”3806″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” title=”NIB Share Price”][vc_column_text]Mr Fitzgibbon did not believe that his ideas were particularly controversial.

“It’s hardly a radical proposition when you consider Medicare is itself a compulsory ‘social insurance’ system. It’s not as if you or I can opt out of Medicare,” Mr Fitzgibbon wrote.

“And no different to the approach taken by many ‘left-leaning’ European governments that don’t feel it necessary to actually run a health insurance system to ensure cost-effectiveness and fairness.”

The views professed by Mr Fitzgibbon did not garner much public support, with his op-ed slammed across the spectrum of government and industry, with Mr Hunt quick to restate the Federal Government’s unequivocal support for Medicare, saying that the Coalition remained “committed to (Medicare) for life, forever”.

“I did see one comment today questioning Medicare, and I have to say clearly and categorically that we reject that proposition: clearly, categorically and absolutely,” he told reporters this week.

“But equally, we’re committed to private health insurance. Both of those elements are part of the model that best serves Australians.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The Grattan Institute Confronts The Private Health Insurance ‘Death Spiral’

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]“It’s inevitable that government will have to make tough decisions about whether more subsidies are the answer to the impending crisis,” said lead author and Grattan Institute Health Program Director Stephen Duckett.

“Governments have failed to clearly define the role of private health insurance since Medicare was introduced in the 1980s. The upshot is we have a muddled health care system that is riddled with inconsistencies and perverse incentives,” Professor Duckett said.

The working paper has generated a broad-ranging set of responses, with the Consumers Health Forum CEO Leanne Wells urging the Federal Government to establish a Productivity Commission inquiry into the role of private health insurance, a call that has been echoed by a number of other healthcare stakeholders.

Australian Private Hospitals Association Michael Roff said that the report shows a lack of understanding of the private health sector to Australian health care.

“The report – which by its own admission raises questions but provides no answers – fails to understand the basics of private hospital care. This is concerning when it claims to be the basis for discussing Government support of health insurance,” said Mr Roff.

“As a basis for policy-maker decision making, its failure to understand what private hospitals offer Australians it is a poor starting point for the debate,” Mr Roff said.

Private Healthcare Australia CEO Rachel David criticized the report for being “light on solutions” and claimed to “already know what the issues are with private health and how to fix them”.

“It is time to repeat the successful collaborative effort demonstrated through the Government’s PHI reforms package,” said Ms David, who then went on to point the finger at the medical devices industry, who are to date the sole contributor to delivering the lowest PHI premium increase in 18 years.

According to Medical Technology Association of Australia CEO Ian Burgess, the costs for medical devices have fallen in every quarter since the Agreement with the Federal Government signed in 2017.

“These cost reductions are a direct result of the $1.1 billion dollars in cuts delivered by the MedTech industry through the Agreement and demonstrate the our industry’s active contribution to the affordability of healthcare in Australia,” Mr Burgess said.

“The Agreement signed in October 2017 will save private health insurers $1.1 billion in payments for medical devices over the next four years.

“Recent APRA data on private health insurers shows them continuing to enjoy strong profitability, with after tax profits up almost 20% over the past three years as affordability for ordinary Australian families goes down,” said Mr Burgess.

APRA recently called out the private health insurance industry for being too reliant on lobbying government to provide solutions and underprepared for the challenges that lie ahead.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Leaked Documents Expose Health Insurers

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]According to the Guardian ‘the nation’s biggest health insurers illegally rejected the claims of thousands of sick or injured Australians over seven years’.

The leaked documents were corroborated by a government whistleblower who told The Guardian that he was “going public with this story because it doesn’t seem right that the authorities say nothing to the public after finding health insurers breaking the law”.

The Consumer Health Forum slammed the “disturbing” failures and called on the Government to conduct a review into the handling of pre-existing conditions disputes.

Consumer Health Forum CEO, Leanne Wells, said whatever the rights and wrongs are of individual cases, this story will further shake public confidence in health insurance.

“This issue goes to the accountability and transparency that should be central to the health insurance system and the disclosures should prompt the Government to examine the circumstances surrounding these breaches and provide a report to the public”, Ms Wells said.

Named in the scandal were a number of well-known private health insurers, including NIB, HCF and Bupa.

Responding to questions from The Guardian, ‘the Commonwealth Ombudsman said it was restricted in commenting on individual cases’. But stated that it was “satisfied that we dealt with the matters that were referred to us in accordance with our processes”.

The Consumer Health Forum believes this latest episode underscore the need for a strengthened role for the Commonwealth Ombudsman to monitor health insurance activities.

“Central to the value of health insurance for members is the need for them to have confidence and trust in their health insurance fund,” Ms Wells said.

The news will almost certainly fuel the public’s growing concerns over the value of private health insurance, as an increasing number of Australian families continue to downgrade or drop their coverage – placing greater strain on the public health system.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Back To School – The Parliament Returns

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Tax

As expected, the week was dominated by the Government’s signature election policy, $158 billion in personal income tax cuts.

By the end of the week the Government had a major victory in securing the passage of its income tax cuts package in its entirety.

In doing so it had to secure deals with key crossbench Senators from Centre Alliance and Jacqui Lambie from Tasmania.

Centre Alliance secured from the Government a commitment to bring down gas prices, through yet to be announced policy changes to ensure downward pressure is brought to bear on retail gas prices.

For Jacqui Lambie, the Government have committed to provide as yet undefined aid to help with Tasmania’s homelessness crisis.  As she said earlier in the week she couldn’t support tax cuts for high income earners, while many in her home state “don’t even have a roof over their head”.

The week was also notable for what the Government outlined as its third term policy agenda through the Governor-General’s traditional opening speech to Parliament.

Is Industrial Relations back on the Agenda?

In the speech the Government flagged potential industrial relations reform.

The Government announced that, “…the Minister for Industrial Relations is reviewing the impediments to shared workplace gains for employers and employees.”

While lacking in detail it does flag a renewed interest in industrial relations reform that the Coalition Government previously had been loath to touch, for fear of a Work Choices style campaign that cost them Government in 2007.

For business they will take some heart that at last, the Coalition Government is willing to engage in a debate around IR reform, which for many is a ‘holy grail’ of economic reform.

Given Work Choices was over 12 year ago now, many in business have been waiting for the Government to show signs of interest in workplace reform.

A Touch of Bipartisanship

In the spirit of bipartisanship both the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader have agreed to work together on the issue of indigenous recognition in the constitution.

The Prime Minister has tasked his Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Ken Wyatt to work with Labor’s Shadow Minister Lynda Burney on a joint approach to this challenging issue.

What the final shape of such a joint approach will look is too soon to know, the issue of an indigenous voice to Parliament will no doubt feature prominently in discussions.

Summary

A big week for the Government and a big win for the Government with the passage of its $158 billion in personal income tax cuts.

The Parliament is now in recess until 22 July.

When the Parliament next resumes, no doubt the Government will be looking to resurrect its proposals to crackdown on lawlessness within unions and also implement its policy commitments from the April budget.[/vc_column_text][vc_zigzag][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”1915″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jody Fassina is the Managing Director of Insight Strategy and has served as a strategic adviser to MedTech and pharmaceutical stakeholders.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Health insurers called out by APRA

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In an unprecedented move for the prudential regulator, APRA has called out the industry for being too reliant on lobbying government to provide solutions and underprepared for the challenges that lie ahead.

According to APRA Senior Manager Peter Kohlhagen in a speech to the Health Insurance Summit in Sydney last week, “we aren’t convinced that any insurer yet has a robust strategy for managing the risks”, and that “the current environment is likely to lead to consolidation if it continues for an extended period.”

Mr Kohlhagen emphasized that insurers will need to have a “Plan B” in the event of failure, and that for many that “Plan B” would most likely be a merger.

He also said that “APRA will not hesitate to act to protect the interests of policyholders should it become necessary due to viability concerns with an insurer.”

“That can take the form of an orderly merger or other exit from the market. Importantly, an insurer that has a plan and executes it when it becomes necessary can control its own destiny. An insurer that fails to plan will find that it loses that opportunity.”

With 82 per cent of Australian households concerned about the cost of private health insurance, the rising costs of healthcare and the confusion brought on by the Government’s recent gold/silver/bronze/basic reforms, the risks facing the industry are very real.

APRA’s letters points to active measures that could be taken by health funds to improve industry practices and boost sustainability, such as facilitating substitutes for in-hospital treatment, revising health supplier contracts and developing preventative health and well-being offerings for their members.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

And the Winner is…

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Will the electorate reward Bill Shorten and his bold social policy program, underwritten by major changes to tax?  Or will the electorate forgive the Liberals and their revolving door leadership, to give Scott Morrison his own mandate to govern.

Make no mistake, this election is close. Where once the Liberals saw themselves as no chance, there is now some hope. For Labor, having previously seen this election as a sure thing, they now have a sense of nervousness.

The first week of the campaign was a shaky one for Labor. After week 2, Labor was able to steady their campaign and, on balance, deliver a solid performance alongside the Liberals.

What has become apparent from the published polls is that neither side has been able to break away from the other.

Labor will take some heart that in every major published poll during the campaign it has shown them consistently, if only narrowly, in front on a two-party preferred basis.  In saying that the polls are not infallible.

The interesting takeout from all the polls, is that neither side has had a primary vote to guarantee victory.

Labor needs a primary vote of 38-39 to be confident of a win, however they haven’t once reached those numbers during the campaign. The Liberals on the other hand need a primary vote of around 43 but have also been able to reach that number. This makes any outcome for this election complicated to predict, with certainty.

Come this evening when the votes will be counted, it will be the battle of the preferences, with key states in Queensland and, followed closely by Victoria, likely to determine who forms government.

Some seats in Queensland are likely to see a combined vote for the minor parties of around 30% or possibly more. The question the everyone will be asking will be, ‘where do those preferences go?’

It’s worth noting that, based on all the published polls, the average combined vote for minor parties across the country is 25% in the House of Representatives, and even higher in the Senate.

This election is unique for some key factors as well.  It will be the first campaign where a third-party (Clive Palmer) will probably have outspent the major parties thanks to an estimated $50 million advertising carpet bombing.

According to the AEC over 4 million (approximately 25% of the total number of register voters on the electoral roll) people have cast their ballots in early pre-poll voting – this is unprecedented.

So, who will be crowned the victor come election day?

If the polls are to be believed, Bill Shorten and Labor would eke out a narrow win, and with 76 seats required for a majority, that narrow win looks to be only 78-80 seats.

For the Scott Morrison and the Coalition, while their path to 76 looks incredibly difficult and on balance a stretch, a hung Parliament followed by a minority Morrison Government supported by crossbench independents, would be their best-case scenario for re-election.

Enjoy your democracy sausage![/vc_column_text][vc_zigzag][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”1915″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jody Fassina is the Managing Director of Insight Strategy and has served as a strategic adviser to MedTech and pharmaceutical stakeholders.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Madam Secretary – Glenys Beauchamp Australia’s Secretary of Health

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Appointed by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Glenys Beauchamp took the position following the resignation of former Health Department chief Martin Bowles. The Secretary of Health is one of the most important appointments in the public service, playing an integral part of leading and shaping Australia’s health and aged care systems, and sporting outcomes. The Department’s size and scope is significant – with more than 5000 employees the policies it implements reach every Australian from birth to death.

Beauchamp has listed the most pressing issue facing her department as equity within the system, echoing the findings of a 2017 Commonwealth report that compared the performance of health systems in 11 OECD countries. The report found that Australia scored well in four of the five categories measured and was ranked second overall. However, our health system fell to seventh place when assessed against the measurement of equity. With poor performance becoming evident when looking at the health gap, for example, between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, its clear that the lens needs to shift to understand how we can better provide for marginalised communities.

Beauchamp has also taken to keeping the Department apolitical stating: “I take seriously my responsibilities and the obligation of the department to ensure we do not support or participate in any political commentary.”  After a letter was sent to Labor’s Shadow Minister for Health, the Hon Catherine King MP, explaining that the Department does not cost Opposition policies. This was in response to Minister for Health Greg Hunt releasing Department of Health data arguing Labor’s $2.3 billion boost to cancer treatment, over four years, would cost taxpayers $6.8 billion.

In the 2018 Department of Health’s Annual Report Glenys Beauchamp listed the strategic priorities as:

  1. Improving health and ageing outcomes and reduced inequality; and
  2. Maintaining Australia’s high-quality health and aged care system.

 The key tactical aspects of these priorities included the following:

  • an integrated approach that balances prevention, primary, secondary and tertiary care
  • promoting greater engagement of individuals in their health and healthcare
  • enabling access for people with cultural and diverse backgrounds including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people in rural and remote areas and people experiencing socio-economic disadvantage
  • partnering and collaborating with others to deliver health and aged care programs
  • better, more cost-effective care through research, innovation and technology
  • regulation that protects the health and safety of the community, while minimising unnecessary compliance burdens

Away from the domestic agenda and looking to the role Australia plays at the international level, in 2017 Beauchamp chaired the sixty-eighth session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, where she was quoted stating the biggest issues facing our region:

  • measles and Rubella elimination that currently average, around 60,000 people infected with measles every year and several thousand babies are born with congenital rubella syndrome in the Western Pacific Region;
  • harmful impact of food marketing with wider availability of cheaper foods high in salt, free sugars and fats is driving the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity. Exposure to aggressive marketing of these foods contributes to the problem;
  • regional Action Plan that aims to assist in practical approaches to improving health literacy, and supporting better informed health decisions;
  • sexually transmitted diseases HIV, Hepatitis B, and Syphilis that can be effectively prevented by simple interventions that can be delivered with antenatal, delivery and postnatal care – such as antenatal screening, treatment of infected mothers and prophylaxis of exposed infants.

The next few years will be vital if the Department of Health is able to achieve its objective of ensuring Australia sustains its position in world-leading health and wellbeing standards.

Fortunately, Beauchamp has brought a wealth of experience to the role. Prior to being appointed Secretary for Health, Beauchamp served as Secretary for Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (2013 – 2017) and Secretary of the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport (2010-2013). She has served as Deputy Secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (2009-2010) and the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (2002-2009).

Beauchamp also holds a degree in economics from the Australian National University and an MBA from the University of Canberra. In 2010, Beauchamp received the Public Service Medal (PSM) for her work in coordinating the Australian Government’s support during the 2009 Victorian bushfires.

It follows that in the context of an ageing population, the dramatic rise in dementia patients and the current diabetes crises – more and more pressure will be placed on the health system. Following the May 18 Elections, it will be interesting to see whether a returned Coalition Government or an incoming Labor Government will seek to shuffle the Department Secretaries deck, and who will be tasked to take on the challenge of the Health Department.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

AUSTRALIA’S HEALTH MINISTER

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Election 2019 will be the seventh consecutive election Greg Hunt will be contesting for his House of Representatives seat of Flinders in Victoria.

Born in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Hunt graduated from Melbourne University in 1990 with a First-Class Honours Law Degree, deciding to continue his studies at Yale University in the United States after being selected for a Fullbright Scholarship.

Back in Australia, Hunt worked as an associate to the Chief Justice of the Federal Court, before entering politics for the first time as a senior advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Alexander Downer MP. During his work with Downer, Hunt was appointed to head Australia’s electoral mission to Cambodia in 1998.

Hunt later moved to the private sector where he worked for the management consulting company McKinsey & Co, becoming an engagement manager specialising in telecommunications, start-ups, government reform and banking.

In 2001, Hunt returned to his hometown in Victoria to campaign for, and be elected as, the Federal Member for Flinders in the then government of Prime Minister the Hon. John Howard MP. Following the 2004 election, Prime Minister Howard appointed Hunt as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage.

Following the 2007 Federal Election which saw Labor form government under then Prime Minister the Hon. Kevin Rudd MP, Hunt was appointed Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Urban Water by then Opposition Leader the Hon. Brendan Nelson MP. Throughout the tenure of Opposition Leaders Nelson, the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP and the Hon. Tony Abbott MP, Hunt held the Shadow Ministry role with slight tweaks to his title by each incoming Opposition Leader.

After the Coalition’s successful election victory in 2013 under then Prime Minister Abbott, Hunt was appointed as Minister for the Environment. During this period, Hunt declared his greatest achievements in the portfolio were to establish Australia’s Emissions Reduction Fund, develop the Great Barrier Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan and invest $1 billion into the Reef Fund.

In 2016, Hunt was recognised internationally by Thomson Reuters as the ‘Best Minister in the World’, during that year’s World Government Summit in Dubai.

After the ascension of Malcolm Turnbull as Liberal Party Leader and Prime Minister and following then Health Minister Sussan Ley’s resignation from Cabinet, Hunt was elevated to Minister for Health. Upon being promoted Hunt stated that his vision as minister was to guarantee Australians’ access to health services and affordable medicines with the establishment of the Medicare Guarantee Fund, as well as ensuring the security of the ongoing funding of Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Since inheriting the Health portfolio, Hunt has announced the extension of the Health Care Homes program to June 2021, to help with coordinating the care for patients with chronic and complex conditions, and brought mental health to the forefront of the healthcare discussion, by investing a record $1.45 billion for community mental health services.

During a 2010 speech, Hunt explained that his mother Kathinka suffered a form of bipolar disorder.

“It’s not something about which I have talked much about. He condition was not preventively debilitating but it was significant,” Hunt said.

One in five Australians experience a common mental disorder each year. Nearly half of the Australian population experiencing a mental illness at some point in their lives, with less than half accessing treatment for it.

Hunt has a personal passion for Genomics, a type of study that address genes and their inter-relationships within the body to better identify their influence on how these organisms grow and develop. In an interview given on the subject he said, “This is one of my great personal passions and priorities for the transformation, not just of Australia’s medical research but our health system and our treatment over the coming decade.”

Health is always a key issue in every Federal Election, however with the massive spending announcements from the Opposition in the first week of the election campaign, it has become even more prominent. The Government’s, and to a large extent Minister Hunt’s, vision and record in Health will be put to the test by voters when it comes time to cast their vote.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Catherine King – Australia’s Alternative Health Minister

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]With the possibility of a change of government in Canberra, it’s a timely opportunity to look at Australia’s alternative Health Minister, the Hon. Catherine King MP.

The next Federal Minister for Health will walk into a portfolio that has an annual budget of close to $100 billion they will be expected to manage. From approving medicines to list on the PBS and approving prostheses that satisfy the criteria for the Prostheses List, to negotiating with State and Territory Health Ministers for the 1,300 hospitals in Australia, an incoming Health Minister will be entering a broad and complex sector.

Born in Melbourne, Victoria King holds a Bachelor of Social Work from RMIT, a Master of Arts (Public Policy) from ANU, and a Bachelor of Laws from Deakin University. Impressively, King completed her Bachelor of Laws while serving as a Member of Parliament.

Following university, King worked in Ballarat as a social worker at the Children’s Homes and Family Service, before pursuing her strong sense of public service in Canberra where she worked with the then Department of Health and Aged Care as an assistant director and later as director. King has also worked in the private sector as a consultant with KMPG before running for parliament.

Following the 2001 Federal Election, King was elected to represent the seat of Ballarat, where she succeeded Michael Ronaldson to become the first woman to represent Ballarat in the Federal Parliament.

Not long after entering parliament, King was promoted to serve as Labor’s Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development in 2004, and, in 2005, was promoted again to the position of Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer.

After the 2010 Federal Election, which saw the Gillard Government form a minority government, King was elevated to the ministry serving in a number of roles including Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Transport, and Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing.

In March 2013, Catherine King was again promoted, this time as a Minister responsible for Regional Services, Local Communities and Territories, and Minister for Road Safety in the Gillard Government. After Labor’s leadership change from Julia Gillard back to Kevin Rudd, King was appointed to Cabinet in July 2013 as Minister for Regional Australia, Local Government and Territories.

After the Coalition’s electoral victory in the 2013 Federal Election, King was appointed by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to serve as Labor’s Shadow Minister for Health, a position she has held ever since.

King has previously stated that, if she were to become Australia’s next Federal Health Minister, her biggest focus would be addressing the growing burden of chronic disease in Australia, primary care reform and health equity.

Speaking at the George Institute Australia to an audience of over 150 stakeholders from across the healthcare sector, King said “around 7 million Australians have a chronic condition and nearly 90 per cent of premature deaths have a chronic disease as an underlying cause. The cost to the health systems is many billions of dollars. And prevention – as we all know – is the key to reducing much of that burden.”

King went on to say “a strong primary care system which includes a focus on protection, health promotion, disease prevention and early detection of those at high risk is critical to addressing chronic disease. An older population with higher rates of chronic disease means Australians will need more care and different types of it.”

If elected, Opposition Leader Shorten and Shadow Minister King have committed to establishing a permanent policy-making body called the Australian Health Reform Commission. The Commission will build on Health Care Homes and the MBS Review to give the government a realistic and detailed appraisal of how to achieve primary care reform.

In time, King wants the Commission to occupy a similar place in Australia’s institutional landscape, just as the Productivity Commission does now.

With health shaping up to become a key battleground for the election and considered to be a bread and butter topic for the Opposition, voters can expect to see more big spending commitments from both parties during the election campaign.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]