Abstract
On 26 February 2008, Victorian State Opposition
Leader Ted Baillieu described as a ?blow out? the
increase in average elective surgery waiting times
from 202 days in September 2007 to 235 days in
February 2008. Likewise, the Australian Medical
Association is concerned that 800 000 Australians
will leave private health insurance now that the
federal government has increased the income
threshold for the Medicare levy. They warn of
?further pressure? on public hospital waiting lists.
Public hospital waiting lists are frequently used for
political point scoring and are portrayed by the
media and politicians as indicators of health system
performance. Alarmingly, governments often
develop policies in response. This paper presents
the current evidence to see whether waiting lists
are valid indicators of health system performance
and presents some advice for policymakers.