In its submission to the Community Affairs References Committee Senate Inquiry into Australia's domestic response to the World Health Organisation's Commission on Social Determinants of Health report Closing the Gap Within a Generation, Catholic Health Australia called on the Government to implement a model for action on the social determinants of health. The model would include the development of principles by the Social Inclusion Unit, the development of a national strategy to address health inequality, the coordination of data collection by the Productivity Commission and the presentation in Parliament on the indicators for action on the social determinants of health by the Prime Minister, as well as a number of other steps.

Click here to read CHA's submission.

Click here to read CHA's response to Questions on Notice following CEO Martin Laverty's evidence given to the Committee.

Catholic Health Australia has commended the Australian National Preventative Health Agency for its draft research strategy for the next four years, expressing the thanks of Catholic public and private hospitals. Responding the invitation to comment on the National Preventive Health Research Strategy (2012-2016) Consultation Draft, CHA offered its endorsement but argued that the addition of CHA's proposed inclusion of a social determinants framework -- flagged by then-Health Minister Nicola Roxon when enabling legislation for the agency -- should be added to the strategy document.

Click here to read CHA's response to the National Preventive Health Research Strategy (2012-2016) Consultation Draft.

Responding to the Senate Inquiry into a certain item in the Health Regulations 2007, Catholic Health Australia recognised that Medicare was established as a means of providing universal access to health care and, in its view, it would be contrary to the common good if women in need of medical care during traumatic events related to pregnancy were inadvertently excluded from Medicare coverage due to the proposed legislation.

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While broadly supportive of the discussion paper's key elements, Catholic Health Australia paid particular attention in this submission to three main areas: Overall health care funding; payment models and structure of providers; and access, including workforce supply, workforce distribution, workforce occupation roles and the ability of patients to afford access to care regardless of economic means.

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Catholic Health Australia, in its submission on the Productivity Commission's Review of Regulatory Burdens on Business, focussed on how regulations on health and aged care services can be burdensome. Among the areas CHA felt could be considered were building certification procedures, fire safety declarations, police checks, compulsory reporting and the streamlining of community aged care.

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Catholic Health Australia made a submission to the Senate Economics Committee's Inquiry into the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Bill 2009, explaining that it supports action on climate change and inviting government incentives to expand environmental sustainability programs in hospitals and aged care services.

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Catholic Health Australia responded to the Productivity Commission's discussion draft of its research study into public and private hospitals. While commending the Commission's report, it found that there was some cost areas that required further scrutiny, including prostheses, medical costs and allied health.

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Pointing out that the current health reform process started in 2007, Catholic Health Australia noted that public hospital performance has not improved. CHA argued that the Federal Government becoming the single funder of all public hospitals was the best way to control and improve the public hospital system. In its 2010/11 Budget submission, CHA proposed six programs it recommended the Government fund as its first phase of health reform.

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