Aussie health spending hits new high during COVID-19 pandemic

Spending on health goods and services has increased significantly during the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

According to data published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on Wednesday, Australians spent 220.9 billion Australian dollars (146.8 billion U.S. dollars) on their health in the financial year 2020-21, the equivalent of 8,617 Australian dollars (5,727 U.S. dollars) per person.

The figure represents 10.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the highest since the data was first tracked in 1985, and an increase of 14.6 billion Australian dollars (9.7 billion U.S. dollars) from 2019-20.

The 7.1 percent increase year on year was more than double the average annual increase of 3.4 percent over the last decade.

Federal, state and territory government health spending accounted for 156 billion Australian dollars (103.6 billion U.S. dollars) of the total.

Across the country, hospital admissions and emergency department presentations increased as strict coronavirus restrictions were eased.

"The increase in health spending during 2020-21 was driven by factors such as government COVID-19-related health funding and people catching up on medical care and treatment services that had previously been delayed," AIHW spokesperson Adrian Webster said in a media release.

Spending by individuals increased by 9.3 percent, offsetting a 7.9 percent decrease in 2019-20.