Most Aussies ‘wildly overestimate’ govt spending on general practice
It comes as the AMA and RACGP release their pre-budget wish lists
Most Australians believe general practice consumes a quarter of the Australian health budget — even though the true figure is less than 7%.
A Roy Morgan survey asked 1000 people in December last year to estimate the state and federal health dollars invested in specialty.
Around a fifth believed it was around 30% of the health budget. Just over 40% of those who took part believed it accounted for more than 40% of the total health budget.
The actual figure is 6.8% of the total health budget — around $12.4 billion annually. Only 14% of those surveyed got close to the correct answer.
