Hip pocket pain hitting healthcare: report

WHEN it comes to out-of-pocket medical costs, Australians are among the hardest hit in the world, a new report shows.

The Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) says the country is now in the top five highest-spending nations in the world, with almost 20 per cent of total health costs now being paid on top of tax and private insurance.

CHF CEO Carol Bennett said the costs are high because the Australian health system enables additional costs to be applied to almost every treatment.

"Every time you see a GP or a medical specialist, fill a script, have a medical test, go to the dentist, there's another payment," she told AAP.

"And for people who have chronic conditions, those payments can be tens of thousands of dollars for treatments they have to have, like surgery on a private basis."

Australians now pay double the amount in out-of-pocket costs of people in the UK or France, Ms Bennett says, and a two-tiered health system has developed.

"We have a system in which if you can afford to pay, you'll get good access to healthcare; if you can't, you'll probably miss out.

"And that's the reality for many people who are having to make difficult choices about whether they access healthcare or not."

CHF says a typical Australian family is spending $500 a year on doctors' bills to meet the gaps left by Medicare, and are then shelling out a further $1200 a year on over-the-counter medicines not covered by the PBS.

Ms Bennett says thousands of Australians are now using superannuation funds to cover medical gaps, and says costs will keep climbing unless major parties develop real funding reform in the health system.

"We've had the Medicare system for 40-odd years - it no longer works for Australian consumers, and people are finding it too difficult to be able to afford the cost of healthcare in this country," she said.

"We (need) to make sure that the money being spent on healthcare is better spent and better targeted so the people who use and pay for healthcare get the service they need, rather than the system being driven by the providers and industries," Ms Bennett said.

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