Enabling less highly-trained hospital workers to play a bigger role could improve jobs for doctors and nurses, save public hospitals nearly $430 million a year and fund treatment for more than 85,000 extra people, argues this report.

A better pricing system for public hospital treatment would show where costs are too high, and free up $1 billion for more and better health care, argues this report.

This report argues that Australia has a long way to go before consumers pay fair prices for pharmaceuticals. Overview Grattan Institute’s March 2013 report, Australia’s bad drug deal, showed that Australians paid more than $1 billion a year too much for prescription drugs. The problem is how the government sets prices. Vested interests are involved...

Shortages of GP services have a big impact. When people can't see a GP, they get sick with conditions that could be prevented. This is costly for the health system and for individuals.

Australians are paying too much for prescription drugs. The cost of this overpayment is at least $1.3 billion a year, or $3.5 million a day. This equates to 14 per cent of the entire Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) budget. In a time of escalating health costs and other strains on the Commonwealth Budget, spending on...