2013-14 Budget: Analysis of Health and Ageing Provisions

 In a tough political and budget year with several major initiatives to be funded - most notably the Gonski education reforms and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, now known as DisabilityCare Australia - the health and ageing section of the 2013-14 Budget has fared reasonably well. Overall the Budget contained $43 billion in savings over the forward estimates, much of which will be funneled into these new ‘critical investments.’ Of this, $1.22 billion over five years was taken from current health programs, with the majority of this ($902 million) from Medicare. This analysis was prepared by Lesley Russell at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy.  (APO 26 June 2013)