[jahaja]

Are you suggesting that one should only look at the absolute numbers? Staying at the previous year's funding is usually - in practice - a reduction for most welfare services.

[monoclechris]

I am suggesting we keep in line with reality and facts, nothing more, nothing less.

[jahaja]

Yes, and facts is that freezing funding while costs rise is effectively a reduction in funding.

[iso1631]

With aging populations and more expensive healthcare funding, health inflation is far higher.

The only real way to compare is to create a healthcare inflation index on a per capita basis from a group of like countries and look at funding that way.