Media releases

The end of the 20-year freeze on Medicare benefits for radiology and ultrasound should reduce gaps and improve access to diagnostic imaging services for many patients, the Consumers Health Forum, said today. “The change to take effect from July next year, will cost taxpayers $200 million over three...

That a third of low-income adults avoid some foods because of problems with their teeth is telling evidence of the need for dental care reform in Australia, the Consumers Health Forum said today. A report by the Grattan Institute today has called for a universal dental care scheme to help end the...

Cost barriers to dental care are dooming many Australians to avoidable pain and poor health and the Australian Greens' policy to do more to remedy this plight is a welcome step, the Consumers Health Forum said today. “Dental care should be part of Medicare just as the mouth is an inseparable part...

Health consumers already paying out thousands of dollars a year in premiums may at last be able to check out what further out of pocket costs they face going to private specialists with the announcement of plans for an official website disclosing fee levels. “We support this first important step to...

Heart disease is a huge and often unrecognised problem for many Australians, and it is good news that both sides of politics today have announced their support for a comprehensive heart health check to be financed by Medicare. “Even though there is one case of heart attack or stroke occurring in...

The inclusion of the professional pharmacy organisation in negotiations for the community pharmacy agreement is a positive step and serves to highlight the need for consumers to be represented too, the Consumers Health Forum says. This week the Government has pledged that the Pharmaceutical Society...

The Consumers Health Forum welcomes Labor’s plan to establish a national health reform commission as a timely step towards improvement and innovation of Australia’s health system. “It is 35 years since the last big change, Medicare, and it is now well past time for a more contemporary Medicare to...

The Consumers Health Forum today launches a new portal, # BeHealthAware , to help people find the health information they seek. Modern health care involves more choice and complexity for consumers and patients than ever, the CEO of the Consumers Health Forum, Leanne Wells, says. “That’s why we have...

A change in the law enabling people to delete permanently their My Health Record, should strengthen public trust in the system, the Consumers Health Forum says. “This change will reassure those people who were concerned that their decision to opt out of MHR would not prevent their record being...

The Consumers Health Forum has called on the Government to accept that health expenditure is crucial not only to save lives but also as an investment in the wider economy. In its federal budget submission, CHF has urged the Government to move away from the current budgetary requirement for all new...