Anne-marie Boxall – The Conversation

Despite its purported dullness, this year’s budget still has bite. Selbe/Flickr

May 15, 2015

Benign‑looking budget uses hidden fangs to drain money from health

Anne-marie Boxall, University of Sydney and Jim Gillespie, University of Sydney

After the controversy surrounding the GP co-payment last year, delivering a boring or “small-target” budget this time around was clearly deliberate. But we shouldn’t gloss over it too quickly.

The relationship between private health insurance and Medicare has been a problem since the Whitlam government introduced universal health care. Hadrian/Shutterstock

March 30, 2015

Private health insurance ‘carrot and stick’ reforms have failed – here’s why

Anne-marie Boxall, University of Sydney

Some people balk at the cost of private insurance – especially the relatively young and healthy – because they don’t see the value of it when they are already covered under Medicare.

Malcolm Fraser has passed away at the age of 84. AAP/NAA

March 20, 2015

Malcolm Fraser’s life and legacy: experts respond

Alex Millmow, Federation University Australia; Andrew Jakubowicz, University of Technology Sydney; Anne-marie Boxall, University of Sydney; David Penington, The University of Melbourne; Hannah Forsyth, Australian Catholic University; Joanna Mendelssohn, UNSW ; Jo Caust, The University of Melbourne; Liz Giuffre, University of Technology Sydney; Mark Beeson, The University of Western Australia; Peter Whiteford, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University; Simon Ville, University of Wollongong; Stephen Leeder, University of Sydney, and Vincent O'Donnell, RMIT University

In his time in office, Malcolm Fraser oversaw the acceptance of southeast Asian refugees and led economic and social welfare reforms.

The Whitlam government’s legacy continues to be felt today, close to four decades since it lost office. AAP/Mick Tsikas

October 21, 2014

Gough Whitlam’s life and legacy: experts respond

Richard Holden, UNSW ; Anne-marie Boxall, University of Sydney; Diana Perche, Macquarie University; Hannah Forsyth, Australian Catholic University; Ian Lowe, Griffith University; Joanna Mendelssohn, UNSW ; Jo Caust, The University of Melbourne; Margaret McKenzie, Deakin University; Mark Beeson, Murdoch University, and Veronica Sheen, Monash University

Gough Whitlam, Labor prime minister from 1972 to 1975, has died aged 98. A giant of modern Australian politics, his passing triggered a flood of tributes on Tuesday morning. In a statement, current Labor…

The new Extended Medicare Safety Net will no longer provide patients with protection against high medical costs. flickr:tanakawho

May 14, 2014

A new, simpler Medicare safety net… but with holes

Anne-marie Boxall, University of Sydney

Buried in the details of the health budget are some changes to Medicare not widely discussed in the last 36 hours. Just as important as the introduction of co-payments for medicines and GP visits are changes…

The budget has introduced a $7 co-payment for visits to the general practitioners. Dave Hunt/AAP

May 13, 2014

Federal budget 2014: health experts react

Stephen Duckett, Grattan Institute; Anne-marie Boxall, University of Sydney; Fran Baum, Flinders University; Mike Daube, Curtin University; Philip Clarke, The University of Melbourne, and Sara Javanparast, Flinders University

The Abbott government has announced a A$20 billion medical research “future fund”, to help discover what Treasurer Joe Hockey calls the “cures of the future”, paid for with money generated as a result…

It doesn’t matter how you count it, Tony Shepherd’s claim that Australians see doctors 11 times a year just doesn’t add up. AAP/Lukas Coch

May 7, 2014

FactCheck: does the average Australian go to the doctor 11 times a year?

Richard Norman, University of Technology Sydney and Philip Haywood, University of Technology Sydney

All Australians, on average, go to the doctor now 11 times per year. I just don’t think we’re that crook. – Tony Shepherd, Commission of Audit Chairman, press conference on the report’s launch, May 1 The…

We’re unlikely to solve persistent challenges to the health system, such as ensuring equitable access to well-coordinated care, with quick fixes. AAP Image/Quentin Jones

May 5, 2014

The state of Australia: health

Anne-marie Boxall, University of Sydney

In the lead-up to the budget, the story of crisis has been hammered home, but there’s more to a country than its structural deficit. So how is Australia doing overall? In this special series, ten writers…

There is no publicly available, solid evidence to show that such outsourcing generates savings for governments. But it could. Alexander Tihonov/Shutterstock

April 7, 2014

Does contracting public care to private hospitals save money?

Anne-marie Boxall, University of Sydney

In the lead-up to the budget on May 13, the Tony Abbott government is looking for ways to make the health dollar go further. In 2011-12 the federal government spent A$14.4 billion on public and private…

Medicare guarantees free public hospital care and funds a range of primary care and other health services. Image from shutterstock.com

January 31, 2014

Explainer: what is Medicare and how does it work?

Anne-marie Boxall, University of Sydney

Medicare is Australia’s universal health scheme. It is a Commonwealth government program that guarantees all citizens (and some overseas visitors) access to a wide range of health services at little or…

Some Australians are struggling to get timely access to affordable health care. AAP Image/Dave Hunt

January 30, 2014

Medicare turns 30 and begins to show signs of ageing

Anne-marie Boxall, University of Sydney

Tomorrow marks an important Australian milestone: 30 years of Medicare and the guarantee of universal access to health care. Before Medicare, it was not that uncommon for people to avoid using health-care…

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