Director, Health Program, Grattan Institute
Professor Stephen Duckett is Director of the Health Program at Grattan Institute and Emeritus Professor of Health Policy at La Trobe University. He has held top operational and policy leadership positions in health care in Australia and Canada, including as Secretary of what is now the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. He has a reputation for creativity, evidence-based innovation and reform in areas ranging from the introduction of activity-based funding for hospitals to new systems of accountability for the safety of hospital care. An economist, he is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and of the Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
Aug 06, 2019 03:52 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy
As we age, were more likely to need a prosthesis to help us function like we used to. It may be a hip or knee prosthesis to replace a worn-out joint, a new lens after a cataract has been removed, or a pacemaker or cardiac...
What are the major parties promising on health this election?
May 07, 2019 03:07 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
The major parties manifestos for the 2019 federal election present voters with starkly contrasting health policies. These policies are shaped and constrained by the overall themes presented by the party leaders, but have...
Morrison’s health handout is bad policy (but might be good politics)
Dec 15, 2018 16:31 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics
The A$1.25 billion Community Health and Hospitals Program Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced this week should be awarded a big policy fail. The move sets back Commonwealth-state relations by decades and its...
Waiting for better care: why Australia’s hospitals and health care is failing
Oct 30, 2018 12:28 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health
This week were exploring nine different policy areas across Australias states, as detailed in Grattan Institutes State Orange Book 2018. Read the other articles in the series here. Australia has a good health system by...
Changes to lure young people into private health insurance won't slow increase in premiums
Oct 13, 2017 09:28 am UTC| Insights & Views Health
Australians will be able to choose lower premiums for higher excess, and insurers required to more clearly categorise their policies, under the federal governments shake up of private health insurance announced...
Why it costs you so much to see a specialist – and what the government should do about it
Aug 13, 2017 23:08 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
Australians pay too much when they go to medical specialists. The government can and should do more to drive prices down. A current Senate Inquiry on out-of-pocket costs will hopefully lead to some policy action. The...
Don't be fooled, the Medicare Guarantee Fund provides no real guarantee
May 12, 2017 06:04 am UTC| Insights & Views Health Politics
Treasurer Scott Morrison pulled a health-related rabbit out of his hat on budget night, announcing the government will guarantee the future of Medicare. It will do this by allocating any extra revenue from the recently...