Health spending in the ACT rose more than any other state or territory, even long before the first case of coronavirus presented itself, new data has shown.
The Australian Institute of Health Welfare has revealed $4.02 billion was spent on health and health services in the ACT during the 2018-19 financial year.
Those figures represent an increase of 10.6 per cent compared to the financial year before, the largest increase of any jurisdiction during the 12-month period.
Of the more than $4 billion spent on health in the ACT, $1.74 billion came from the federal government while a further $1.31 billion was from the ACT government.
The remainder was made up of $570 million from individuals, $240 million by health insurance funds and a further $160 million by non-government sources.
Unsurprisingly, the most health money was spent on Canberra's hospitals, with $1.55 billion going towards it, followed by $1.17 billion for primary health care.
A further $180 million was allocated in 2018-19 new buildings and equipment while $550 million was spent on health research.
On a per-person basis almost $9500 was spent per person on health in the ACT.
That represents the second-highest amount spent per person out of any state or territory, only behind the Northern Territory, which spent $10,483 per person.
On a national level, health spending increased in 2018-19 by 3.1 per cent, rising to more than $195 billion, making up 10 per cent of Australia's economic activity.
According to the institute, the amount spent on health by the government made up nearly one-quarter of the revenue it made through taxes. However, it marked the second year in a row that figure declined.
"[This was] indicating that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, tax revenues were growing faster than spending on health," the report said.
Institute spokesman Dr Adrian Webster said while the rate of growth was down, more money was spent on health per person nationwide.
"After adjusting for inflation, the growth of 3.1 per cent was slightly lower than the average yearly growth rate over the decade of 3.5 per cent," Dr Webster said.
"Spending in 2018-19 equated to an average of $7772 per person.
"In real terms this was $111 more per person than in 2017-18."
Federal government spending on health increased in 2018-19, according to the report.
Federal spending rose to $80.6 billion, up by $2.4 billion from the year before, or 3.1 per cent.
A similar increase was seen among state and territory governments across the country during the financial year, spending a combined $53 billion on health.
"In terms of the key health services, spending on hospitals grew by $2.8 billion in real terms to $79 billion, making up 40.4 per cent of total health spending," Dr Webster said. "This included a $61.8 billion spend on public hospitals and $17.2 billion on private hospitals."
