The state of affairs in health

Angela Beaton and Lesley Russell introduce their analysis of the 2009-10 state and territory health budgets THE GLOBAL financial crisis has been good for health in the sense that it has provoked the state and territory governments to inject capital into health infrastructure. But this major investment needs to be balanced with provisions to ensure that needed health services are there for the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups that are feeling the pinch in this economic downturn.   Generally speaking, the marked investment in health infrastructure in all state and territory budgets, which includes the development and upgrade of metropolitan and regional hospitals, emergency departments, and the purchase of various bits of high-tech medical equipment, will help to improve health care services for many Australians.   While there is a clear emphasis in all of the state and territory budgets on creating and sustaining jobs, provisions for prevention and indigenous health services seem to be secondary considerations. This is surprising given the increased emphasis on these issues and the national partnerships between the Commonwealth and state governments that are now in place to address them. These partnerships require that the states and territories provide funds for preventive health and Indigenous health ($772 million over four years).  It is not at all clear that these funds have been committed and their expenditure is underway.  Services for disadvantaged groups and issues around prevention surely become even more important at a time when people may be forced to choose cheaper, less nutritious foods and when a visit to the dentist is well down on the list of a family’s priorities. This highlights the importance of achieving real change in these areas by taking a more integrated and comprehensive approach, facilitated by the national partnerships, and backed up by shared accountability, better performance reporting and greater budget transparency.  • An analysis of state and territory health commitments against the National Partnership commitments agreed through the COAG process is available from the Menzies Centre for Health Policy website.  Angela Beaton is a researcher at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy, University of Sydney / Australian National University. Lesley Russell is the Menzies Foundation Fellow at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy, University of Sydney / Australian National University, and a Research Associate at the US Studies Centre, University of Sydney. She is currently working in Washington DC. Photo: Andrew Jeffrey&nbsp