The big parties have pledged billions of dollars in welcome new health spending but there is variation in how they rate against the Consumers Health Forum's priorities for the community’s health. The Consumers Health Forum today releases its scorecard on how the parties stack up in terms of...

Measures to support the health of young people are often overlooked so the Consumers Health Forum particularly welcomes the focus the political parties are giving to youth health at this stage of the election campaign. “The health and wellbeing of young Australians is a key priority, yet many...

The National Press Club election health debate today provided a rare if welcome opportunity for the rival health policies to come under the sort of scrutiny we need to see more of, the CEO of the Consumers Health Forum, Leanne Wells, said. “We congratulate the Health Minister, Greg Hunt, and Shadow...

A new national survey finds most Australians have a positive view of their own health literacy --- that is the ability to get, understand and use information to promote good health. However, the Australian Bureau of Statistics survey shows that in general, people with chronic illness or who are...

The Consumers Health Forum welcomes Labor’s $2.4 billion Pensioner Dental Plan for aged pensioners and Commonwealth senior card holders. “We welcome the access this plan will deliver to many Australians who presently struggle to access basic dental health care check-ups let alone more advanced...

The Greens’ call for emphatic health reforms in prevention, funding, chronic care and dental care, present rational options to improve a health system that is currently captive to old ways, the Consumers Health Forum said today. “Most health analysts would agree that many of the reforms suggested...

The Federal election has begun with a welcome focus on health, yet there is much more Australia could do differently to achieve better health for all. The Consumers Health Forum has called for the next Federal Government to take early action on three health priorities to set 21st century health...

The Consumers Health Forum welcomes Labor’s $10 million plan to support the long-awaited development of an informed financial consent standard to ensure patients are given clear and consistent information about the costs and options of their treatment. Labor says a national standard would help...

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Consumers Health Forum (CHF) have joined forces to call on the Federal Government to rethink its decision to put a hold on plans that would enable patients to collect two months of scripts in a single visit to a pharmacy, after successful lobbying by the Pharmacy Guild. “This policy reversal takes little heed of PBS and the expert, multidisciplinary advice of the PBAC and is counter to undertakings from both sides of politics that PBAC advice will be acted on, Ms Wells said.

The Consumers Health Forum supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart and appeals to the next Parliament to take effective steps towards constitutional change to acknowledge the place of the First Nations peoples in Australia and their right to a Voice in the Parliament. “Surely after more than...