Australia's health spending reaches AUD6,248 per person

 02-Feb-16, The Sydney Morning Herald

The total cost of Australian health care has grown about four per cent per year over a decade to AUD6,248 (USD4,449) per person, a report says.

Image: Alex Ellinghausen

The Productivity Commission's report on health services showed that the total amount government, individuals and private insurance spent on health grew from AUD4,788 per person in 2004/5 to AUD6,248 per person in 2014. 

This was not due to either inflation or population growth rates, which were both factored in to the results.

Alison Verhoeven, the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association's chief executive officer, said "There is more driving the demand in growth than population growth and the consumer price index. It's also about the growing burden of chronic disease...and the shift in the demographic profile in Australia."

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