11 March 2020 — Media release

COVID-19 Plan a strong response to counter pandemic threat

The Federal Government’s $2.4 billion health plan to fight COVID-19 is an impressive and wide-ranging response that prepares Australians and health services well to counter the threat of a pandemic, the Consumers Health Forum said today. “The provision of bulk-billed telehealth medical services,...
4 March 2020 — Blog

Keeping body and mind together with Medicare

The recent letter sent to GPs warning against co-billing Medicare for physical and mental health issues is as concerning for health consumers as it is for doctors. We expect Medicare funding to be used appropriately to deliver high-value care and for waste to be avoided, but the treatment of...
27 February 2020 — Blog

Why consumers must help remedy overdiagnosis

Jan Donovan The risks and costs of overdiagnosis pose an important and complex issue for health consumers in Australia and many other countries. An international conference on Preventing Overdiagnosis held in Sydney recently shone light on the varied issues raised by overdiagnosis that demand...
11 February 2020 — Media release

Social prescribing – a remedy to counter chronic health problems

Australia should use social prescribing to counter rising chronic health problems, according to a new report from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Consumers Health Forum (CHF). Social prescribing involves the referral of patients to non-medical activities,...
5 February 2020 — Media release

Government must heed regulator call for health insurance probe

The Federal Government must heed the call of its health insurance regulator and establish an independent review into private health insurance, the Consumers Health Forum says. Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority board member Geoff Summerhayes has made the call this week in a penetrating...
24 January 2020 — Blog

Diana Aspinall, champion of health consumers

Health consumers everywhere have lost a true champion with the passing of Diana Aspinall, at age 80. A leading figure in the development of the health consumer movement in the Blue Mountains of NSW, Diana set a wonderful example over 45 years of the way consumer advocates can make a lasting...
23 January 2020 — Media release

It’s time to make access to mental health care a reality for all

As so many Australians who have needed mental health care know, the ideal of universal access to the services they need is a fiction. The Productivity Commission’s draft report on mental health points to “a once in a generation opportunity to reform our mental health system”, the Consumers Health...
22 January 2020 — Media release

Great expectations on health require real action

The battery of reviews into Australia’s health system currently underway indicate the Government recognises the need for real action and greater investment in health, but the next Federal Budget must show the Government is for real on health, the Consumers Health Forum says. Releasing CHF’s...
20 January 2020 — Blog

Climate, health and saving life as we know it

The consequences of the terrible bushfires which have swept Australia in recent days bring together two systemic challenges impacting on life as we know it: climate change and an outmoded health system. The fires make increasingly urgent the need for remastered health and environment approaches...
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13 January 2020 — Blog

Sign up to Australia’s Health Panel and help shape a healthier future

The bushfires ravaging Australia are taking our environmental health challenges into uncertain territory, making it more vital that we are kept up to date about the health consequences and for there to be a proactive, comprehensive plan for prevention and management. Today Australia’s Health Panel...

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