CHA lodged this submission, dated 29 August 2014, to the Senate Select Committee’s Inquiry into the Medical Services (Dying with Dignity) Exposure Draft Bill 2014. In compiling the submission, CHA sought legal opinion advising whether enactment of the Bill would be a valid exercise of the legislative power of the Commonwealth on any of the three bases proposed by the Bill. This legal opinion was included in CHA’s submission, however due to the size of the document, only the title/contents page is included in the copy of the submission found here. The submission supports that it is a moral imperative that the Government and Parliament provide adequate resources to relieve suffering rather than contemplate considering the introduction of the Draft Bill. The submission includes information on palliative care. CHA representatives appeared before the Senate hearing on the draft Bill on 15 October 2014.   Click here to read the submission.

In its submission to the Senate Community Affairs Committee Inquiry into out-of-pocket health care costs in Australia, Catholic Health Australia again emphasised its guiding principle that those with capacity to contribute to their health care costs should and those less able to contribute must be guaranteed high-quality access to health care when needed, with the support of a robust, publicly funded social safety net. Click here to read the submission.

In its submission to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee, Catholic Health Australia outlined why it supports repeal of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Bill and the abolition of the ACNC. The principal reason for CHA's criticism of the ACNC design and support for the repeal Bill is that hospital and aged care regulation provides sufficient consumer protections that the ACNC adds nothing to. Click here to read CHA's submission.

In its submission to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care regarding the National Consensus Statement: Essential Elements for Safe and High-Quality End-of-Life Care in Acute Hospitals, Catholic Health Australia offered largely positive feedback, but called for greater emphasis on standards for providing quality palliative care and hoped that the consensus statement would lead to the development of a national standard. The submission also offers more specific feedback on aspects of the statement. Click here to access the submission.

In late 2013, the Coalition Government announced there would be a National Commission of Audit. Click here to read Catholic Health Australia's submission to the Commission of Audit.

Catholic hospitals and pharmacies that are operating near or below break even in their provision of chemotherapy services are under increasing financial pressure following changes to the price paid under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to supply chemotherapy drugs and another impending reduction, Catholic Health Australia has told a Senate Inquiry. The price reductions occur under a policy of "price disclosure" whereby the PBS price is brought into line with the market price once a drug comes off patent. CHA supports price disclosure, but has argued that hospital pharmacies need to be adequately paid for the professional work involved in preparing and supplying chemotherapy drugs.

Click here to read the submission.

Hundreds of thousands of Australians are suffering from ill health because health reforms implemented in recent years aren't having an impact on their lives. Catholic Health Australia CEO Martin Laverty says it's time for political parties to get serious about improving the health of all Australians.

Catholic Health Australia (CHA) today released its Health Blueprint, which outlines six key priorities for how ongoing health reform can be effective and reach those seemingly untouched by previous reforms.

Click here to access the Health Blueprint

In this submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration's Inquiry into the implementation of the National Health Reform Agreement, Catholic Health Australia explains that beds will close in Catholic hospitals, staff will be cut, emergency department targets won't be met and surgical procedures won't be carried out because of funding cuts to public hospitals. CHA also reiterated its view that a single tier of government funding, most likely from the Commonwealth, would provide a more stable funding system for hospitals in Australia.

Click here to read the submission.