Health Plan Payment in Australia

The Australian healthcare system is characterized by a mix of public and private financing and provision of healthcare services. The health insurance system consists of a National Health Insurance/Service and voluntary private health insurance (PHI). The latter is regulated through the Private Insurance Act (2007) which established a complex mix of subsidies and regulatory instruments (e.g., community rating, open enrollment, ad valorem premium-subsidies and tax-incentives), and provides for the operation and administration of the Risk Equalization Trust Fund. The Australian health plan payment scheme constitutes a combination of risk sharing and risk equalization. The duplicative nature of the current private/public mix (those with PHI remain covered by the national public system) and the potentially inefficient mix of subsidies have contributed to some important issues such as overinsurance, a high market concentration, risk selection, market segmentation, and a misallocation of subsidies. Increasingly, concerns are rising about the affordability, efficiency, and sustainability of the Australian healthcare system

Psychotherapy in Australia: Clinical psychology and its approach to depression

In Australia, clinical psychology training is dominated by cognitive and behavioral treatments (CBTs), although there is exposure to other theoretical orientations. Since 2001, over 20% of general medical practitioners (GPs) have received training in CBT, and psychiatry training increasingly incorporates CBT elements. Psychotherapy by medical practitioners is financially supported by universal health care funding with supplementation by patients and their private health insurance. Federally funded health benefits for up to 12 psychology consultations per year are provided on referral from GPs and psychiatrists, and initial take up has been very strong. Mrs. A would be a typical patient for such a referral. However, she would not fulfil criteria for priority access from state-funded mental health services. Mrs. A would probably consult a GP and receive antidepressants, although she may also access a range of other community support programs. Access to and acceptance of psychotherapy would be greater in urban areas, and if she were of Anglo-Saxon and non- indigenous origin