❓ Ms McHale questions the Minister for Health on health funding from 1993 onwards, seeking details on allocations, real per capita funding, cost of Central Scaled Episodes, and productivity measurements. The Minister provides detailed financial data and explanations.
AnsweredQoN 651Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
651. Ms McHALE to the Minister for Health:
(1) What has been the total amount of funding actually provided for health by the Court Government for each budget year from 1993 onwards?
(2) Will the Minister provide details of the allocation of the funds for each year to -
(a) Metropolitan hospital services or its predecessor;
(b) Country hospital services;
(c) Health Department; and/or
(d) other?
(3) Will the Minister advise in real terms, what is the amount of recurrent funding per head of population each year from 1993 to June 2000?
(4) In real terms, what has been the change in the cost of a Central Scaled Episode?
(5) What factors does the Government use to measure changes in productivity in the health sector?
(6) How does it measure qualitative aspects of health care?
(7) What is the estimated assessment of changes in productivity in the health sector for each of the last five financial years?
(1) What has been the total amount of funding actually provided for health by the Court Government for each budget year from 1993 onwards?
(2) Will the Minister provide details of the allocation of the funds for each year to -
(a) Metropolitan hospital services or its predecessor;
(b) Country hospital services;
(c) Health Department; and/or
(d) other?
(3) Will the Minister advise in real terms, what is the amount of recurrent funding per head of population each year from 1993 to June 2000?
(4) In real terms, what has been the change in the cost of a Central Scaled Episode?
(5) What factors does the Government use to measure changes in productivity in the health sector?
(6) How does it measure qualitative aspects of health care?
(7) What is the estimated assessment of changes in productivity in the health sector for each of the last five financial years?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
14 November 2000
Response time
70 days
The Minister Replied:
(1) State Government health expenditure since 1992/93 has been as follows (including net appropriated revenue):
Actual Actual
Year Recurrent Capital Total
Outturn Outturn
$M $M $M
1992/93 1233.2 61.2 1294.4
1993/94 1308.5 67.1 1375.6
1994/95 1323.2 64.1 1387.3
1995/96 1429.1 69.6 1498.7
1996/97 1478.7 69.8 1548.5
1997/98 1615.2 87.7 1702.9
1998/99 1768.0 95.9 1863.9
1999/00 1862.7 65.3 1928.0
2000/01 Budget 1951.3 94.0 2045.3
(2) (a) - (d)
Centrally
Managed
Year Metro Country HDWA Other Capital
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
$M $M $M $M $M
1992/93 695.2 213.6 22.8 301.6 61.2
1993/94 701.2 215.4 21.9 370.0 67.1
1994/95 736.0 214.7 19.0 353.5 64.1
1995/96 791.0 224.9 21.6 391.6 69.6
1996/97 930.0 276.0 40.7 232.0 69.8
1997/98 1003.6 290.9 38.5 283.7 86.2
1998/99 1098.2 324.7 38.4 319.4 83.2
1999/00 1153.8 344.6 41.4 339.3 48.9
2000/01 Budget 1167.5 357.9 41.4 392.8 85.7
Notes (a) & (b) - Metropolitan and Country
For the period of analysis the following are changes in management and service delivery practices:
- The integration of health services (both metropolitan and country) commenced from 1996/97. This involved the transfer of services such as mental health, public health and community health from the 'other' category (d) above to the appropriate metro. and country sectors.
- The amalgamation of School Dental Services and Perth Dental Hospital occurred in 1996/97. This became the Dental Health Services and is aligned to metro. health services. Previously School Dental Services was included in the 'other' category.
- Some capital monies allocated to health services in (a) and (b) are predominantly for minor works.
Note (c) - HDWA
In real terms the Health Department budget allocation from 1995/96 to 1996/97 has not increased. The increased funding allocations reflect the following significant changes in policy;
- In 1996/97 changes to accounting practices resulted in the discontinuation of corporate costs being transferred to health services and related programs.
- Changes to government user charge policies implemented during 1996/97, and
- The creation of specialist policy units such as mental health and aboriginal health.
It is noted that the total Health Department budget allocation excludes debt servicing costs which are included in the 'other' category (d).
(3) Real per capita recurrent health expenditure by the State Government, expressed in 2000/01 dollars, increased from $834 per person in 1992/93 to $1 019 per person in 1999/2000. This is an increase of more than $185 per person, or 22%.
On a year by year basis, the outcome has been as follows:
Year Real per Capita $
1992/93 834.04
1993/94 878.08
1994/95 865.52
1995/96 890.96
1996/97 898.17
1997/98 952.09
1998/99 1 004.16
1999/00 1 019.35
2000/01 Budget 1 026.69
It is noteworthy that the most recent Commonwealth Grants Commission data, for 1998/99, ranks Western Australia as spending more per capita on health than any other State.
(4) During the four years that the WA Scaled Central Episode (SCE) model has been used to purchase activity, the following changes to the price (in actual dollars) have been made.
Scaled Central Episode Price *
Teaching Non-Teaching
1997/98 1 460 1 030
1998/99 1 602 1 092
1999/00 1 850 1 505
2000/01 1 763 1 483
*The Health Department of Western Australia determines an SCE price rather than the cost of SCEs, as the SCE is a prospective payment.
The SCE model is refined every year, thus it is not meaningful to compute SCE values in real terms.
(5) Productivity is measured by changes in the volume of outputs. Outputs for the admitted patient sector which accounts for the largest component of health expenditure are:
-Number of weighted separations;
-Average length of stay.
(6) Qualitative aspects of health care are measured and expressed via the Performance Indicators as defined by the HDWA for its annual report and by the WA health system Key Performance Indicators Working Party. Some of the indicators developed are appropriate for the whole of health (Statewide) reporting, some are for reporting at a health service level.
(7) Changes in level of outputs:
Average Length of Stay % Change in Average Length of Stay Total Weighted Separations %Change in Total Weighted Separations
1995/96 3.91 - 349 042 -
1996/97 3.66 -6.39 361 884 3.68
1997/98 3.58 -2.23 370 992 2.52
1998/99 3.41 -4.98 395 121 6.50
1999/00* 3.34 -2.05 396 465 0.34
* Figures for 1999/2000 may be incomplete.
(1) State Government health expenditure since 1992/93 has been as follows (including net appropriated revenue):
Actual Actual
Year Recurrent Capital Total
Outturn Outturn
$M $M $M
1992/93 1233.2 61.2 1294.4
1993/94 1308.5 67.1 1375.6
1994/95 1323.2 64.1 1387.3
1995/96 1429.1 69.6 1498.7
1996/97 1478.7 69.8 1548.5
1997/98 1615.2 87.7 1702.9
1998/99 1768.0 95.9 1863.9
1999/00 1862.7 65.3 1928.0
2000/01 Budget 1951.3 94.0 2045.3
(2) (a) - (d)
Centrally
Managed
Year Metro Country HDWA Other Capital
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
$M $M $M $M $M
1992/93 695.2 213.6 22.8 301.6 61.2
1993/94 701.2 215.4 21.9 370.0 67.1
1994/95 736.0 214.7 19.0 353.5 64.1
1995/96 791.0 224.9 21.6 391.6 69.6
1996/97 930.0 276.0 40.7 232.0 69.8
1997/98 1003.6 290.9 38.5 283.7 86.2
1998/99 1098.2 324.7 38.4 319.4 83.2
1999/00 1153.8 344.6 41.4 339.3 48.9
2000/01 Budget 1167.5 357.9 41.4 392.8 85.7
Notes (a) & (b) - Metropolitan and Country
For the period of analysis the following are changes in management and service delivery practices:
- The integration of health services (both metropolitan and country) commenced from 1996/97. This involved the transfer of services such as mental health, public health and community health from the 'other' category (d) above to the appropriate metro. and country sectors.
- The amalgamation of School Dental Services and Perth Dental Hospital occurred in 1996/97. This became the Dental Health Services and is aligned to metro. health services. Previously School Dental Services was included in the 'other' category.
- Some capital monies allocated to health services in (a) and (b) are predominantly for minor works.
Note (c) - HDWA
In real terms the Health Department budget allocation from 1995/96 to 1996/97 has not increased. The increased funding allocations reflect the following significant changes in policy;
- In 1996/97 changes to accounting practices resulted in the discontinuation of corporate costs being transferred to health services and related programs.
- Changes to government user charge policies implemented during 1996/97, and
- The creation of specialist policy units such as mental health and aboriginal health.
It is noted that the total Health Department budget allocation excludes debt servicing costs which are included in the 'other' category (d).
(3) Real per capita recurrent health expenditure by the State Government, expressed in 2000/01 dollars, increased from $834 per person in 1992/93 to $1 019 per person in 1999/2000. This is an increase of more than $185 per person, or 22%.
On a year by year basis, the outcome has been as follows:
Year Real per Capita $
1992/93 834.04
1993/94 878.08
1994/95 865.52
1995/96 890.96
1996/97 898.17
1997/98 952.09
1998/99 1 004.16
1999/00 1 019.35
2000/01 Budget 1 026.69
It is noteworthy that the most recent Commonwealth Grants Commission data, for 1998/99, ranks Western Australia as spending more per capita on health than any other State.
(4) During the four years that the WA Scaled Central Episode (SCE) model has been used to purchase activity, the following changes to the price (in actual dollars) have been made.
Scaled Central Episode Price *
Teaching Non-Teaching
1997/98 1 460 1 030
1998/99 1 602 1 092
1999/00 1 850 1 505
2000/01 1 763 1 483
*The Health Department of Western Australia determines an SCE price rather than the cost of SCEs, as the SCE is a prospective payment.
The SCE model is refined every year, thus it is not meaningful to compute SCE values in real terms.
(5) Productivity is measured by changes in the volume of outputs. Outputs for the admitted patient sector which accounts for the largest component of health expenditure are:
-Number of weighted separations;
-Average length of stay.
(6) Qualitative aspects of health care are measured and expressed via the Performance Indicators as defined by the HDWA for its annual report and by the WA health system Key Performance Indicators Working Party. Some of the indicators developed are appropriate for the whole of health (Statewide) reporting, some are for reporting at a health service level.
(7) Changes in level of outputs:
Average Length of Stay % Change in Average Length of Stay Total Weighted Separations %Change in Total Weighted Separations
1995/96 3.91 - 349 042 -
1996/97 3.66 -6.39 361 884 3.68
1997/98 3.58 -2.23 370 992 2.52
1998/99 3.41 -4.98 395 121 6.50
1999/00* 3.34 -2.05 396 465 0.34
* Figures for 1999/2000 may be incomplete.
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