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NSW ‘second to US’ in health costs

NSW patients face high care costs in comparison to other nations

NSW patients pay more for out-of-pocket medical expenses than do citizens of every country except the US, a report has found.

The Bureau of Health Informationā€™s second annual report, Healthcare in Focus 2011: How well does NSW perform, compares the stateā€™s health care with that in 10 countries.

The bureauā€™s CEO Diane Watson said NSW got value for its health dollar but care costs were high when people got sick.

ā€œOnly the US had a higher percentage of sicker adults who reported cost as a barrier to accessing doctors, medicines, tests and treatments,ā€ Watson said.

ā€œWhile no public patient in NSW incurs out-of-pocket costs for hospitalisation, 42 per cent of NSW sicker adults reported that they and their family had spent more than $1000 out of pocket on medical care.

ā€œ(That is) a higher percentage than in nine countries.ā€

NSW and the rest of Australia are also heavily reliant on hospitals compared with other countries.
ā€œWeā€™ve found 15 per cent of NSW sicker adults with a chronic condition are hospitalised or visit an emergency department, which is twice as high as France,ā€ Watson said.

In 2011, one-quarter of adults in NSW and Australia reported they received treatment in a hospital in the past two years compared with 14 per cent in Canada and 15 per cent in the UK.

In better news, NSW had a 46 per cent drop in deaths from heart disease, stroke and common cancers over the decade.

ā€œWeā€™re a leader in the speed of change,ā€ Watson said.

In NSW in 2008ā€“09, a total of $4,933 per person was spent on healthcare (public and private).

After accounting for differences in currency, this is at least 10 per cent lower than spending in six comparable countries. A significant proportion of the stateā€™s resources are spent on healthcare. In 2008-09, total public and private health expenditure was $35 billion ā€“ almost 9 per cent of gross state product.

Of NSW patients who needed to see a specialist, 60 per cent reported waits for an appointment of less than four weeks, a higher proportion than in seven countries. About one in five (19 per cent) waited longer than eight weeks.

AAP

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