The Price Of Health: Australian Governments And Medical Politics 1910-1960 (studies In Australian History)

No area of social welfare in Australia has seen as much conflict as health policy. Clashes have involved the medical profession, bureaucrats, friendly societies and political parties, often to the detriment of the patient. This 1991 book provides background to the current debate by studying the political conflict over health policy in Australia from 1910–60. It looks at both state and national levels for the origins of the system of publicly subsidized private practice epitomized in the fee-for-service scheme. The different currents within state policy are analysed along with the various obstructions to the development of the national health insurance policy. The role of the British Medical Association, which in its indigenous form continues to have a hostile relationship with the government because of its determination to maintain its independence and fee-for-service practices, is closely examined. The Price of Health will be of particular interest to health policy makers.

This book provides background to the current debate on health policy by studying the political conflict over it in Australia from 1910 to 1960. It looks at both state and national levels to identify the main structures and forces that shaped the system of publicly-subsidized private practice, which is now most obvious in the fee-for-service scheme.

By the 1920s the Australian medical profession had achieved a nearly unchallenged dominance over the supply of personal health services.