The Struggle for Affordable Health Care in Australia
Ella Helman, a 36-year-old public servant, finds herself caught between the demands of caring for three young children and an aging, sick mother. Her dual-income household is struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living, making it increasingly difficult to ensure that her family receives the health care they need.
Her children, who do not have complex medical issues, still require regular visits to specialists due to several food allergies. “It feels like every single year it’s getting tighter and tighter,” she said. “Insurance premiums are going up, everything’s going up, and we are having to make those difficult decisions about — do we delay that appointment?”
The situation becomes even more challenging when it comes to her 60-year-old mother, Cathy, who has a complex set of health issues. Living in public housing and on the disability pension, Cathy struggles daily to meet her basic needs, let alone access preventive health care. “It’s the things that are bubbling under the surface but there’s no money there to get them addressed,” Ella explained. “Eventually, they become major problems, and by that point, that person’s quality of life is so diminished.”
A Growing Crisis in Health Care Access
A recent report by the Consumers Health Forum (CHF) highlights the growing crisis in health care affordability in Australia. According to the report, one in two Australians missed out on health care they needed last year primarily because they could not afford it. The survey, which included over 5,100 participants, revealed entrenched inequities that disproportionately affect lower-income individuals, those with chronic illnesses, and people from diverse backgrounds.
“Australians still trust the care they receive. What they don’t trust is whether they can afford it when they need it,” said CHF CEO Elizabeth Deveny. “That gap between confidence in care and confidence in affordability is the fault line in our health system.”
The findings show that 55 per cent of people delayed taking or getting medication, while nearly 50 per cent skipped recommended medical tests or appointments due to cost. Almost 67 per cent of people who did not see a dentist when they needed to cited affordability as the main reason.
Financial Stress and Health Inequities
The report also examined financial stress as a key social determinant of health. More than 35 per cent of Australians reported experiencing at least one financial difficulty in 2025, with some resorting to asking for help from family and friends, skipping meals, or pawning items to get by.
While Australians showed moderate confidence in the healthcare system, only one in three felt confident they could afford care if they became seriously ill. “Affordability is not an abstract economic issue. It determines whether someone sees a doctor, fills a prescription, fixes their teeth, or waits and hopes a problem will pass,” the report stated.
People with lower incomes, those with chronic illness, non-English speakers, and members of the LGBTQI community were found to have higher odds of unmet health needs. The cost of private health insurance was the main reason why many people did not have coverage, with just over 60 per cent of Australians having it.
Calls for Government Action
Dr. Deveny emphasized that Australians are clear about what they expect from the government. They want more health workers, lower costs for care and medicines, and better access to services. She highlighted the upcoming May federal budget as an opportunity to address these concerns.
“The purpose of this survey is not just to describe problems. It is to help governments and health leaders see where reform is landing — and where it is not,” she said. “If we want a health system that people trust, the system must remain both high quality and genuinely affordable.”
Health Minister Mark Butler pointed to measures taken by the federal government to make health care more affordable, including slashing the cost of medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and committing $8.5 billion to expand bulk billing and bolster the workforce. “When we came to government in 2022, it had never been harder or more expensive to find a doctor,” he said. “Strengthening Medicare has been a key focus of our government.”
A Call for Equity in Health Care
For Ella Helman, who is also a volunteer consumer advocate for CHF, change is crucial, especially for those living on government payments. “These people are really living on the bread line,” she said. “Health care in the public system needs to be free and it needs to be accessible.”
She criticized the way policy makers and government officials treat those on welfare. “It’s almost like all of the decisions made by policy makers and government officials are treating them as one cohort, and saying … ‘We don’t think you deserve a quality of life that is equal to these other people who are working and generating money through taxes.’”
“To be honest, I’m really sick of it. And I think that we need serious action to bring equity back into the healthcare system.”
