The States have effectively neutered the promised independence of the National Health Performance Authority by forcing it to send all findings back through State health administrations for review.
My one-page submission to the Senate Inquiry into the draft NHPA Bill suggests that “transparency, a principal aim of the Bill, will be enhanced if the major financial interests of NHPA members are published where they can be seen, on an accessible website.” The reasoning was that an agency with the power to call health-care operators to book, without the say-so of the Minister or the Secretary, would need a Chief Executive of a pay-grade sufficient to stand up and question the status quo on behalf of the taxpayer. Such a Chief would have to be beyond reproach, especially in current and past dealings with elements of the health-care industry. Since most high-level actors in the health-care field have had to exist in ethical relationships with the industry, it seems the best way to management potential conflicts is by open disclosure.
The Committee has supplied answers to questions arising from submissions, including one regarding my suggestion. The answer to Question 14 is “The National Health Performance Authority will not be involved in determining government expenditure on health services and will not be involved in the purchase or provision of improved drugs or services. The requirements to disclose interests to the minister and the authority, and for a member to not be present or take part in any discussion or decisions in which a member has an interest, and for this to be minuted, are thought to be sufficient.”
The supplied answer to another Question (13) states, in part “The availability of mechanisms for ministerial oversight is fairly standard across agencies established under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (the FMA Act).”
The FMA Act says nothing about management of conflicts of interest, so where do Ministers find their guidance in this important matter?
By those answers to Questions on Notice, it seems this Authority will not have the robust independence of the ACCC or the Productivity Commission. Why, then, does it need to be glorified with a Bill of its’ own? Why not park it behind another desk in the corridors of the existing bureaucracy and save the expense?
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