Health in Focus Podcast

Amplieo
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Discover the latest interviews, thought leadership and analysis in health and policy. amplieo.substack.com

  1. Mar 6

    The Price Problem and the Politics of Coverage

    Harvard health economist Dr Benjamin Sommers examines what universal insurance does and does not solve, why the US spends far more for comparable care, and what countries like Australia should watch as inequality, ageing and fiscal pressures intensify. Chapters (00:00) - Intro (01:19) - Coverage versus access in universal systems (05:11) - The ‘voltage drop’ between insurance and outcomes (06:05) - Massachusetts reform and narrowing disparities (08:34) - Federalism as innovation and inequity (11:35) - National compacts versus patchwork systems (15:21) - How to measure system performance and equity (17:55) - Maternal and early life indicators as stress tests (18:42) - Data capacity, political will and public reporting (22:58) - The real driver of US costs: prices (24:24) - Administrative complexity and fragmentation (26:00) - Where systems fracture under inequality and ageing (28:03) - The limits of market solutions 📥 JOIN Amplieo+ on Substack for early access to episodes, exclusive videos, and bonus content: https://amplieo.substack.com LEARN more about Amplieo: https://www.amplieo.com 📲 FOLLOW Amplieo on socials LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/amplieo Instagram: https://instagram.com/amplieo YouTube: https://youtube.com/@amplieo Get full access to Amplieo at amplieo.substack.com/subscribe

    31 min
  2. GP bulk billing surges but affordability pressures persist

    Feb 13

    GP bulk billing surges but affordability pressures persist

    Australia’s GP billing landscape is shifting rapidly, with new Cleanbill data showing a sharp rise in fully bulk billing clinics alongside continued growth in out of pocket costs, raising complex questions about incentives, sustainability and equitable access to primary care. Chapters (00:00) - Intro (00:52) - Blue Report headline figures (02:14) - What is driving the bulk billing shift (03:39) - Understanding the rise in out of pocket costs (05:23) - The economics of running a GP clinic (06:23) - Cleanbill methodology versus government data (08:14) - What counts as a GP clinic (11:49) - Geographic variation and incentive design (13:50) - Are costs deterring patients from care (15:31) - The 90 percent bulk billing target (17:39) - Policy settings and structural reform 📥 JOIN Amplieo+ on Substack for early access to episodes, exclusive videos, and bonus content: https://amplieo.substack.com LEARN more about Amplieo: https://www.amplieo.com 📲 FOLLOW Amplieo on socials LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/amplieo Instagram: https://instagram.com/amplieo YouTube: https://youtube.com/@amplieo Get full access to Amplieo at amplieo.substack.com/subscribe

    19 min
  3. Greg Hunt: Designing virtual care for a modern health system

    Jan 29

    Greg Hunt: Designing virtual care for a modern health system

    Telehealth is no longer a stopgap or crisis response but a permanent pillar of Australia’s health system, reshaping how care is accessed, funded and governed. Former health minister Greg Hunt reflects on how virtual care has matured since its rapid expansion, why access and quality must be advanced together, and what this means for funding reform, workforce capability and the future design of hospitals. Chapters (00:00) - Intro (00:48) - Life after politics and a portfolio view of health reform (03:52) - Digital health, AI and the shift to system-based care (05:03) - Telehealth’s transition from fringe to mainstream (06:06) - What rapid reform revealed about system capacity (08:55) - Principles for virtual care: access and quality (12:26) - Addressing Australia’s access gap through telehealth (13:38) - Managing innovation, safety and stakeholder interests (16:08) - Clinical, administrative, resourcing and ethical priorities (19:18) - Building principles that endure technological change (21:12) - Oversight, accountability and governance models (23:26) - Bulk billing, incentives and access pressures (27:01) - Hospital funding reform and system integration 📥 JOIN Amplieo+ on Substack for early access to episodes, exclusive videos, and bonus content: https://amplieo.substack.com LEARN more about Amplieo: https://www.amplieo.com 📲 FOLLOW Amplieo on socials LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/amplieo Instagram: https://instagram.com/amplieo YouTube: https://youtube.com/@amplieo Get full access to Amplieo at amplieo.substack.com/subscribe

    33 min
  4. Grattan Institute Report: What’s driving waste inside public hospitals?

    Jan 21

    Grattan Institute Report: What’s driving waste inside public hospitals?

    Australia’s public hospital system is absorbing billions in additional funding each year, yet avoidable inefficiency remains deeply embedded, raising fundamental questions about how hospitals are funded, governed, and held accountable as the next National Health Reform Agreement is negotiated.  Chapters (00:00) - Intro (00:48) - Why $1.2 billion in hospital spending is avoidable (02:20) - Variation in care that cannot be explained by patient complexity (03:35) - The limits of blaming primary care and prevention gaps (04:55) - Unrealistic budgets and the loss of productivity signals (06:40) - Commonwealth–state funding tensions and shared responsibility (09:05) - Why pay-for-performance has failed to deliver results (11:00) - Same-day surgery, scope of practice, and evidence-based efficiency (13:20) - What the next National Health Reform Agreement should change 📥 JOIN Amplieo+ on Substack for early access to episodes, exclusive videos, and bonus content: https://amplieo.substack.com LEARN more about Amplieo: https://www.amplieo.com 📲 FOLLOW Amplieo on socials LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/amplieo Instagram: https://instagram.com/amplieo YouTube: https://youtube.com/@amplieo Get full access to Amplieo at amplieo.substack.com/subscribe

    16 min

  5. Jan 13

    Australia’s illness system problem and the case for prevention-first reform

    Health economist Luke Slawomirski examines how incentives, governance and political decision-making have shaped Australia into an illness-focused system, and what structural reforms are needed to shift investment upstream towards prevention, outcomes and population health. Chapters (00:00) - Intro (00:49) - What an “illness system” looks like in practice (01:47) - The widening gap between lifespan and healthy years (02:36) - Why Australia excels at rescue but struggles with prevention (03:42) - Spending patterns and the imbalance between acute and primary care (05:08) - The political economy of prevention and ribbon-cutting incentives (08:23) - Who the health system is really designed to serve (11:55) - Citizens, governance and setting system-wide priorities (12:28) - The evaluator-general concept and embedded evaluation (16:39) - Performance measures, pay-for-performance and unintended consequences (23:11) - Rethinking the private health insurance rebate (27:54) - Closing reflections 📥 JOIN Amplieo+ on Substack for early access to episodes, exclusive videos, and bonus content: https://amplieo.substack.com LEARN more about Amplieo: https://www.amplieo.com 📲 FOLLOW Amplieo on socials LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/amplieo Instagram: https://instagram.com/amplieo YouTube: https://youtube.com/@amplieo Get full access to Amplieo at amplieo.substack.com/subscribe

    28 min

  6. 12/29/2025

    Australia’s Health System Is Holding Together but the Cracks Are Structural

    Australia’s health system is often described as one of the world’s best, yet mounting pressures across primary care, hospitals, disability and private insurance suggest a system straining against outdated incentives, fragmented responsibilities and rising demand that current reforms only partially address. Chapters (00:00) - Intro (00:32) - Bulk billing targets and political expectations (03:00) - Certainty, transparency and patient behaviour (04:01) - Specialist out-of-pocket costs and referral pathways (05:47) - Urgent care centres and after-hours primary care (08:21) - Commonwealth–state misalignment in urgent care (09:02) - Hospital cost growth and the National Health Reform Agreement (10:27) - Stranded patients and aged care bottlenecks (13:20) - Performance funding and shared incentives (15:10) - NDIS design, accountability and market failure (17:05) - Private hospital viability and insurance design (20:29) - Regulation, consumer protection and market oversight 📥 JOIN Amplieo+ on Substack for early access to episodes, exclusive videos, and bonus content: https://amplieo.substack.com LEARN more about Amplieo: https://www.amplieo.com 📲 FOLLOW Amplieo on socials LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/amplieo Instagram: https://instagram.com/amplieo YouTube: https://youtube.com/@amplieo Get full access to Amplieo at amplieo.substack.com/subscribe

    24 min

  7. 12/29/2025

    Chronic pain and the system built to overlook it

    Pain affects millions of Australians, yet the health system still treats it as an invisible symptom rather than a condition requiring structured, long term care. In this discussion, Monika Boogs, CEO of Pain Australia, explains why chronic pain remains misunderstood, how stigma shapes care and access, and what systemic reforms are needed to better support people whose lives, work and relationships are shaped by ongoing pain.  Chapters (00:00) - Intro (00:36) - What Pain Australia does and who it represents (01:32) - Why pain must be treated as a condition in its own right (02:42) - The My Pain Assessment communication tool (04:40) - Designing the tool with patients and international partners (06:21) - Stigma, disbelief and living with chronic pain (08:06) - Economic, social and mental health impacts of pain (08:46) - System reform, funding gaps and the case for an MBS item (10:00) - What multidisciplinary pain care looks like in practice (13:53) - The single most important lever for change 📥 JOIN Amplieo+ on Substack for early access to episodes, exclusive videos, and bonus content: https://amplieo.substack.com LEARN more about Amplieo: https://www.amplieo.com 📲 FOLLOW Amplieo on socials LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/amplieo Instagram: https://instagram.com/amplieo YouTube: https://youtube.com/@amplieo Get full access to Amplieo at amplieo.substack.com/subscribe

    16 min

  8. 12/22/2025

    Endometriosis, the system and the long road to being believed

    Endometriosis affects one in nine Australian women, yet the health system continues to respond with delayed diagnosis and fragmented care rather than structured pathways. This panel brings together lived experience and clinical leadership to examine why the condition remains underdiagnosed, how system design contributes to long delays, and what reforms could move Australia beyond awareness towards action, particularly for women in regional and underserved communities.Chapters (00:00) - Intro (01:21) - Why endometriosis remains underdiagnosed and misunderstood (03:41) - Systemic and societal drivers of delayed diagnosis (06:14) - Living with endometriosis in regional Australia (09:22) - The six to ten year diagnosis gap and the role of primary care (12:06) - Being heard and the impact of clinician listening (15:56) - The financial burden of endometriosis care (18:21) - System design, funding models and primary care reform (22:07) - Multidisciplinary care and mental health impacts (25:05) - Moving from awareness to action in policy and practice 📥 JOIN Amplieo+ on Substack for early access to episodes, exclusive videos, and bonus content: https://amplieo.substack.com LEARN more about Amplieo: https://www.amplieo.com 📲 FOLLOW Amplieo on socials LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/amplieo Instagram: https://instagram.com/amplieo YouTube: https://youtube.com/@amplieo Get full access to Amplieo at amplieo.substack.com/subscribe

    30 min
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Discover the latest interviews, thought leadership and analysis in health and policy. amplieo.substack.com

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