$160m health cash cut

FEDERAL spending on healthcare will fall by $160 million this financial year, despite the increasing needs of our ageing population.

A Senate estimates committee in Canberra has heard spending will drop from $61.168 billion in 2011-12 to $61.008 billion in 2012- 13 as the Government strives to balance its budget.

Secretary of the Department of Health and Ageing, Jane Halton, said she was very ‘‘conscious’’ of the decrease.

The situation is unusual because Medicare and pharmaceutical spending are on the rise as the population ages, and the Government has committed to outlaying more on public hospitals.

A DoHA s p o k e s - woman said the drop was due to several factors, including a capital spending reduction because expensive Health and Hospitals Fund projects had been completed.