Pricing Framework for Australian Public Hospital Services 2012–13
Date published: 9 February 2022
Governments agreed to establish the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA) to provide independent advice about the efficient cost of public hospital services. Much of this advice will be evidence‐based, drawing on technical knowledge and expertise about the classification, costing and funding of public hospital services.
But, the IHPA must also balance a range of national policy objectives including improving the efficiency and accessibility of public hospital services. This role requires the IHPA to exercise judgement on the weight to be given to different policy objectives. In order to be transparent about how it makes decisions that involve policy choices, the IHPA has developed a set of Pricing Guidelines.
These Pricing Guidelines will be used to explain the key decisions made by the IHPA in this Pricing Framework. The Pricing Guidelines may also be used by Governments and other stakeholders to evaluate whether the IHPA is undertaking its work in accordance with the explicit policy objectives included in the Pricing Guidelines. The Pricing Guidelines signal the commitment by the IHPA to transparency and accountability in how it undertakes its work