BETTER care for the seriously ill outside hospitals is tipped to be part of a major health reform document to be released on Monday. Health Minister Nicola Roxon says the interim report from the Federal Government's National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission contains some "radical" ideas.

The Age believes such ideas include changing the balance between public and private treatment.
The report will examine the option of a single national health care system run out of Canberra. Some sources believe it will suggest replacing much of Medicare with a British-style "fund holding" model for GPs, in which particular regions or practices get a block grant to "ration" out to patients. That would attract fierce resistance, especially from doctors worried about mixing medical decisions with financial ones. The document will also look at building new bridges between health care in hospitals (mostly state funded) and in the community (mostly federa funded). "People want us to look at doing things in a different way, want access to services closer to their communities, want to find ways that they can have more continuous contact with health professionals throughout the course of their lives," Ms Roxon told The Age.