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Welcome to the Australian Health Care Reform Alliance

The Australian Health Care Reform Alliance (AHCRA) is a coalition of individuals and organisations working to improve health care in Australia. While some areas of the current health system perform well, overall it does not deliver optimum care in an equitable and efficient way. AHCRA believes that our health system needs fundamental reform in order to meet our future health care needs.
A fair go Health System AHCRA
AHCRA is calling for some major changes to our health system to make it fairer, more efficient and more consumer-focussed.

Health policy news

Health reform issue – 7 May 2019

Australian Greens health policy

Health reform issue – 7 May 2019

Equity – life expectancy

Health reform issue – 7 May 2019

Where Ross Gittins gets it right on health reform

Health reform issue – 29 April 2019

Federal Election 2019: Follow the lead of WA on climate and health

Health reform issue – 29 April 2019

Federal Election 2019: National Health Commission – making it work

Health reform issue – 29 April 2019

Federal Election 2019: ALP Cancer policy – good but is it fair?

Health reform issue – 29 April 2019

Federal Election 2019: A ‘health’ policy – not just a ‘health care’ policy

Health reform issue – 29 April 2019

Federal Election 2019: Dental care – welcome but not enough

Universal health care article – 8 March 2019

Universal health care makes ethical and economic sense

Health reform issue – 21 Nov 2018

One nation: are all Australian States and Territories equal?

Health reform issue – 21 Nov 2018

Nutrition condition

Health reform issue – 21 Nov 2018

Climate change call to action

Health reform issue – 21 Nov 2018

The elephant in the room

Health reform issue – 21 Nov 2018

Health workforce issues

Keep up to date with all our latest news and articles by following us on Paper.li

AHCRA News

07 February 2020

Executive Changes

It is with much regret that we are saying farewell to our Chair, Jennifer Doggett, after nearly four years of leading our organisation. Under her leadership we have made great strides in engaging social media as well as maintaining our presence in the mainstream media. She will be missed but we will continue.

Tim Woodruff will be Acting Chair and Spokesperson for the time being.

Thank you Jennifer!

17 May 2019

ACHRA Election scorecard

9th May 2022

Aged Care: When Will The Neglect End?

A few weeks ago another horror story emerged of an Aged Care resident with an ulcer down to the bone due to inadequate care, in a facility which had failed multiple compliance testing and been allowed to continue operating. It’s over a year since the Aged Care Royal Commission made its report and this still goes on.

Last year the Federal Government responded to the Commission’s recommendations with a $5 billion yearly increase in Aged Care funding. Estimates of the cost of implementing the recommendations are at least $10 billion a year. One might call the response half-baked. This year the budget allocates just an extra $12.5 million/ year. The horror stories will continue as Aged Care remains grossly underfunded with minimal moves to improve governance and structure and implementation of standards. In addition, the lack of support of the Federal Government for a crucial wage rise case in the Fair Wage Commission suggests a callous disregard for the horror stories we have heard.

Underpaid undertrained staff cannot provide the necessary care. Doctors don’t want to go to Aged Care facilities because there is inadequate support for their work. Residents are sent to hospital unnecessarily or simply die undertreated because of inadequate staffing.

Labor has committed to registered nurses on site 24/7 if it wins office. It supports the application for wage rises. It supports an increase in care hours/resident. The Coalition does the latter but forgot to fund it in the recent budget and then criticised Labor for not detailing the funding source. The Greens want full implementation of the recommendations. Neither Labor nor the Coalition have committed to full implementation especially with respect to restructuring the system. Instead they are cherry picking the politically obvious ones.

Funding Aged Care reform is easy. The conspicuous wealth in this country is evident. Both major parties are committed to increasing the budget deficit with planned tax cuts which favour the wealthy. So why can’t we also increase the budget deficit or tax more to look after our elderly. These are the mothers, fathers, and grandparents who have built this country and who continue to lovingly give back to their children and grandchildren.

It’s all about priorities. The interim report from the Commission was titled Neglect. “When will the neglect end?” asks Dr Tim Woodruff.

Dr Tim Woodruff

Chair

Australian Health Care Reform Alliance

Ph 0401042619

Government Policy on JobSeeker and JobKeeper Unhealthy and Economically Counterproductive

“The Federal Government’s plan to reduce JobSeeker and JobKeeper, its previous elimination of the temporary child care support measures, and its planned tax cuts will damage the lives of many and will have little if any, positive impact on the economy,” said Dr Tim Woodruff, Acting Chair of the Australian Health Care Reform Alliance.

Covid kills. It affects poor people much more than the wealthy. That’s what the figures show. Poverty kills. Even relative poverty leads to poorer people suffering and dying earlier than wealthier people, whether from Covid or any other cause. That’s what the figures show.

Newstart was 40% below the poverty line before Covid. As of September 24, 1.6 million JobSeeker Australians will have their income cut to 10% below the poverty line. Those people will suffer more and die younger than their wealthy fellow Australians. This is Federal Government policy.

It is immoral policy. It is unhealthy policy.

Every dollar these people on JobSeeker have will immediately be spent, thus regrowing the economy.

Contrast that with the contemplated Federal Government proposal to give  tax cuts of $2,000 to $4,000 to wealthy Australians. They all have quite adequate disposable incomes. Those tax cuts will be spent increasing their wealth in savings such as superannuation, property investment and the like. Such spending will have little or no impact on the struggling economy. Indeed it may just maintain or even exacerbate the lack of affordability of housing for those on lower incomes.

Cutting taxes for the wealthy at this time is counterproductive economic policy

But it is ideologically consistent with a belief that if one is lucky enough to have had the opportunity to be wealthy, whether through having the right genes, family upbringing , and/or connections, then one deserves to continue to be comfortable, come what may, and damn the rest.

Questions remain. Why are mother sand babies being left ot go hungry in our cities and towns.? Why is it being left to charities and volunteers to pick up the pieces? Does our Governments have anything to say other than to call the poor a drain on society.

Does Australia really  want public policy which is driven by ideology, despite it being unhealthy, immoral, and economically counterproductive? , asks Dr Woodruff. “Are we really all in this together?”

Dr Tim Woodruff

Acting Chair

0401042619

19th Oct 2019

Private health insurance reform needs a non-partisan solution

The Australian Health Care Reform Alliance (AHCRA) today called on all political parties to work together to find solutions to the current private health insurance crisis and to develop a joint approach to the future funding of private health care in Australia.

More here...

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AHCRA Members



Find out more about AHCRA Members

Contact

Email: info@healthreform.org.au
  • General enquiries:
    • Tim Woodruff
    • Chair and Media Spokesperson
    • Phone: 0401 042 619
Australian Health Care Reform Alliance © 2023 - All Rights Reserved
The Australian Health Care Reform Alliance (AHCRA) is a coalition of peak health groups working towards a better health system for Australia’s future.