In its pre-budget submission, Catholic Health Australia (CHA) has urged the federal government to mandate private health insurers to cover hospital-in-the-home care to ensure patient access.
CEO Jason Kara highlights the benefits of home-based treatments like chemotherapy and palliative care, citing improved outcomes and reduced strain on hospitals.
“Treatments like chemotherapy, dialysis, wound care, palliative care and post-surgical rehab can be conducted safely at home with better outcomes – but millions of patients are missing out”
Catholic Health Australia CEO Jason Kara.
Comparing to the UK and US, where home treatments are more prevalent, Australia lags behind at five percent.
CHA proposes a default benefit of $330 per day to incentivise investment in home care.
Additionally, CHA recommends reforms in premium increases by tying them to member benefits and addressing workforce shortages in healthcare.
They advocate for mental health care improvements, funding for medicare ineligible patients, and reforming the private health sector towards an activity-based funding model.
As Australia’s largest non-government health and aged care group, CHA represents a significant portion of the healthcare sector.
