This study was prompted by the findings of Butler et al (1998) that the Australian contribution to the international health services research literature accounted for 5.6% in 1993-1994. First, the methodology used in that study is critically appraised, and second, to identify the extent to which...

When consumers have private information about risk of suffering a loss, or equivalently, if insurers are prohibited from using observable information on risk in underwriting, theoretical models of insurance predict adverse selection. Yet the most common finding in empirical studies is that of no...

Economic evaluations of health care programs are relatively common. However, the costs reported often use budgetary information alone, rather than undertake the potentially more complex task of using a variety of routinely collected data for which adjustments and assumptions will need to be...

This study has examined the costs and consequences of a randomised controlled trial of a community based Tai Chi program for people over 60 years of age. The hypothesis for the trial was that compared to non-participants, participants in the Tai Chi program would have fewer falls and may...

In many developed countries, budgetary pressures have made government investigate private insurance to reduce pressure on their public health system. Between 1997 and 2000 the Australian government implemented a series of reforms intended to increase enrollment in private health insurance and...

Until the 1996 Federal election, the Liberal Party remained committed to the repeal of Medicare. In that election the Liberal platform endorsed the continuation of Medicare, and support for private health insurance. Since then the Government has pursued a strategy of support for private health...