Budget wins for the health sector

The 2013 Budget papers suggest that the Health sector in particular is going to face significant growth and require significantly increasing expenditure going forward. Several mentions are made of Australia's ageing population, the resulting increase in demand for healthcare services and the increasing cost of new technology. Further, one might expect that a significant portion of the expenditure allocated to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, now known as DisabilityCare Australia, will flow into the broader health sector as funding for enhanced health care.

The Budget also records a further significant increase in the take up of private health insurance, suggesting that Australians are concerned both about the cost and availability of quality health services.