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Elizabeth Savage

Professor of Health Economics, University of Technology Sydney

Professor Elizabeth Savage is one of Australia’s leading researchers on health care funding, private health insurance and health service use. Much of her experience is at the interface between research and policy.

She has two recent ARC Discovery Projects, one analysing the impact of elective surgery waiting times in public hospitals on the demand for private insurance and private hospital care, and the other modelling the structure of health care subsidies in order to to determine the extent of deviations between current subsidies and alternatives based on predicted patient health risk. She is also an Associate Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence on Population Ageing. Her research on private health insurance, risk selection and waiting times for elective surgery won the Australian Health Economics Society Research Prize in 2009 and 2013.

She was a lead member of the Review of the Extended Medicare Safety Net which resulted in policy changes introduced in the 2009-2010 Budget and the Review of Capping of Extended Medicare Safety Net Benefits in 2011. She has also provided expert advice to the OECD and Australian Department of Health and Ageing and has been an invited member of the Resource Distribution Formula Technical Committee for the NSW Department of Health.

In 2008 she was invited to give evidence to the Senate Economics Subcommittee Inquiry into the Medicare Levy Surcharge Thresholds and, in 2009, she participated in workshops for the Productivity Commission Inquiry into ‘The Performance of Public and Private Hospital Systems’ in Australia. In 2008 she was a member of the Long Term National Health Strategy group at the Australia 2020 Summit. She was President of the NSW Branch of the Economics Society of Australia from 2005-2007.

The multi-billion-dollar subsidy for private health insurance isn't worth it

Apr 27, 2017 06:40 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Almost 20 years after the 30% subsidy for private health insurance was introduced, premiums continue to rise every year. This comes at a cost to the federal budget which was forecast at A$6.5 billion in the 2016 federal...

Economy

Platinum Price Surges Past $2,000 as Demand and Supply Dynamics Tighten

Platinum prices surged sharply at the start of the week, rallying more than 4.6% on Monday to break above the $2,000 per ounce level for the first time since 2008. The move marks a 17-year high for the precious metal and...

U.S. Dollar Slips as Yen Finds Support on Intervention Signals and Geopolitical Risks Rise

The U.S. dollar edged lower on Monday after posting modest gains last week, as cautious market sentiment and rising geopolitical tensions weighed on risk appetite. Currency markets remained largely subdued in Asia, showing...

Why U.S. Coffee Prices Are Staying High Despite Trump’s Tariff Rollbacks

U.S. coffee drinkers hoping for cheaper coffee after President Donald Trump rolled back key import tariffs are likely to be disappointed. While the tariff reductions removed duties on hundreds of food items, including...

UK Economy Grows 0.1% in Q3 2025 as Outlook Remains Fragile

The British economy recorded modest growth in the third quarter of 2025, expanding by 0.1% between July and September, according to the latest confirmation from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The final GDP...

German Exports to the U.S. Decline Sharply as Tariffs Reshape Trade in 2025

German exports to the United States recorded a significant downturn in 2025, underscoring the lasting impact of U.S. trade policies on Europes largest economy. According to a study cited by Reuters, German car exports to...

Politics

Australia Moves Toward Tougher Gun Laws After Bondi Shooting

Australias most populous state, New South Wales, is set to introduce significantly tougher gun laws alongside new measures targeting terrorism and public protests, following a deadly mass shooting in Sydneys Bondi area....

Trump Announces Ambitious Plan for New U.S. Navy Super Battleships

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday an ambitious proposal for the United States Navy to begin building a new class of advanced battleships, a move that could significantly reshape the future of American naval...

China’s Nuclear Expansion Raises Arms Control Concerns as Pentagon Report Warns of Growing Military Ambitions

China is rapidly expanding and modernizing its nuclear weapons arsenal, with a draft Pentagon report warning that Beijing may have loaded more than 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) across three newly...

Kremlin Downplays U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine as Ongoing Process

Russia has played down expectations surrounding recent discussions with the United States on the Ukraine conflict, emphasizing that the talks should not be interpreted as a major diplomatic breakthrough. Kremlin spokesman...

Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Peace Talks With U.S. and Europe Near Breakthrough

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said negotiations involving Ukraine, the United States, and European nations aimed at ending the nearly four-year war with Russia are approaching a decisive outcome, signaling...

Science

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission

Blue Origins massive New Glenn rocket marked a major milestone as it completed its first mission for paying customers, sending two NASA satellites toward Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster at sea. The...

Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ: COGT) shares skyrocketed over 120% after the biotech company announced groundbreaking results from its Phase 3 PEAK trial evaluating bezuclastinib in combination with sunitinib for patients with...

Technology

Italy Fines Apple €98.6 Million Over App Store Dominance

Italys competition authority has imposed a 98.6 million ($115.53 million) fine on U.S. technology giant Apple and two of its subsidiaries, citing alleged abuse of a dominant market position related to the distribution of...

Moore Threads Unveils New GPUs, Fuels Optimism Around China’s AI Chip Ambitions

Moore Threads Technology Co Ltd (SS:688795), often described as Chinas potential alternative to NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), attracted investor attention after unveiling a new lineup of graphics processing units at...

U.S. Lawmakers Urge Pentagon to Blacklist More Chinese Tech Firms Over Military Ties

A group of nine Republican U.S. lawmakers has formally urged the Pentagon to expand its list of Chinese companies accused of supporting Chinas military, intensifying scrutiny of Beijing-linked technology firms amid rising...

Dina Powell McCormick Resigns From Meta Board After Eight Months, May Take Advisory Role

Dina Powell McCormick has resigned from Meta Platforms board of directors effective immediately, just eight months after joining the social media company, Meta confirmed on Friday. The unexpected departure comes at a time...

TikTok U.S. Deal Advances as ByteDance Signs Binding Joint Venture Agreement

TikTok has taken a major step toward securing its future in the United States after its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, announced it has signed binding agreements with three major investors to form a new joint venture...