Budget 2015: Business as usual for health

“With an investment of $1.7 billion over the next 4 years, most people would say it is business as usual as for health,” says Richard Forgan, PwC Budget 2015 Leader and Partner.

“The funding for new health initiatives (for example, for end of life care, elective surgery and bowel cancer screening) will be welcomed by the sector. However, maintaining existing services and expected demand will be challenging with the $320 million available and any gaps in funding will need to be bridged with efficiency gains.

“The decision to focus funding on current services misses the opportunity to invest in long-term conditions prevention which could reduce future demand and therefore cost of healthcare provision over the longer term, ” concludes Mr Forgan.

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