Australia spent $19.7 billion fighting this one condition as health spending rises
Australia's health spending has risen to 10 per cent of GDP, with $270.5 billion or $10,037 per person spent, according to new government data.
It constitutes a 1.1 per cent increase, with the government alone spending $188.2 billion on health, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Of the spending, more than $180 billion can be attributed to disease and injury, with cancer remaining the most costly condition to treat.
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Spending on health has increased, with nearly $20 billion spent on cancer alone. iStock
The data covers the 2023-24 period.
Australia spent $19.7 billion treating cancer, while the report noted mental health conditions and substance abuse issues constituted the second-highest burden of disease.
Burden of disease, according to the AIHW, is defined as the impact of diseases and injuries on a population, combining years of healthy life lost due to ill health with the years of loss due to dying prematurely.
However, the growth in spending is lower than it has been in previous years, with the health system now adjusting to a "new normal" of spending after the COVID-19 pandemic.
In fact, government spending on health declined slightly, with investment on a per-person basis also dropping.
"Overall government spending decreased in 2023-24 due to lower public health spending in the post-pandemic period," Geoff Callaghan from AIHW said.
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Governments are spending less on health, but other providers are picking up the slack. Getty Images/iStockphoto
Callaghan said those outside of government were footing the bill to a larger extent than ever before.
"Spending from non-government sources, including individuals and private health insurance providers, increased by 3.7 per cent in real terms, driving the overall increase in health expenditure," he said.
The report also identified risk factors that were costing Australian taxpayers more money.
Conditions arising from being overweight or obese cost $7 billion to the Australian economy, with avoidable risk factors costing $38 billion as a whole.
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