End of federal hospital funding for COVID-19 looming disaster: Australian medical association

CANBERRA, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Top Australian medical bodies have warned that a planned change to the hospital funding model will have a "devastating" impact.

The federal government has confirmed the 50-50 coronavirus-related health funding deal with state and territory governments will expire at the end of 2022.

State and territory health ministers had called for the split funding arrangement to be extended through to 2025 and the Australian Medical Association (AMA) for it to be made permanent.

The federal budget for 2022-23, which was handed down by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Tuesday night, confirmed the end of the scheme and the return of the annual growth cap on hospital funding.

The cap limits the overall growth in federal funding for public hospitals at 6.5 percent annually.

Steve Robson, president of the AMA, said that even with the additional federal funding the hospital system was already at "breaking point."

"The virus is unlikely to respect a 31 December budget deadline, and if these measures end it will only put more pressure on our already logjammed hospitals," he was quoted by the Guardian Australia as saying.

His comments echoed the sentiment of Brad Hazzard, health minister of Australia's largest state of New South Wales, who said the end of the agreement "spells disaster for the frontline staff and patients."

It comes as experts warn Australia could face a spike in new coronavirus cases within weeks.

Adrian Esterman, head of biostatistics at the University of South Australia, said the budget assumed "COVID is over."

"It's nowhere near all over," he said.

"We have declining immunity and new subvariants hitting Australia," he said. "(It's) already happening in New Zealand."