What’s fair in funding indigenous health care? We don’t know, but isn’t it time we did?

Gavin Mooney, Curtin University and University of Sydney

ABSTRACT

There are various different ways of looking at equity in the context of the funding of indigenous health care. This paper argues for adopting an approach which incorporates notions of capacity to benefit, vertical equity and communitarian claims. Whatever decision is eventually reached on what is fair in such funding, it is suggested that there are enough indications that what is currently the case is unfair. While the question of what the ultimate goal of fairness might be is being sorted out, it is suggested that spending on indigenous health care be increased by 50%. Such a move is clearly justified as a short term policy objective.

Gavin Mooney is Director of the Social and Public Health Economics Research Group (SPHERe) at Curtin University and The University of Sydney.

Download in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format, 145 Kb.

ISSN 1443-8607
Volume 1, Number 2: November 2000, 75–85
The Drawing Board: An Australian Review of Public Affairs
© The University of Sydney