IHACPA Determinations Released for 2026-27

The Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) has released two key determinations for 2026-27:

• National Efficient Price (NEP) which sets Australian Government payments for in-scope public hospital services that are funded on an activity basis. The NEP for 2026–⁠27 is $7,418 per national weighted activity unit.
• National Efficient Cost (NEC) which determines the Australian Government funding contribution for services that are block funded. For NEC 2026–27, the fixed cost is $3.127 million and the variable cost is $8,003.

Key changes for 2026-27 include:

• Admitted acute care will be priced using the Australian Refined Diagnosis Related Groups Version 12.0. This includes new groupings for maternal care, organ donation after death and new principles for consistent grouping of intervention-based episodes of care.
• Non-admitted services will be priced using the Tier 2 Non-Admitted Services Classification Version 10.0. This introduces new classes for hospital-based, non-admitted voluntary assisted dying services.
• Temporary pricing measures introduced in response to Coronavirus disease 2019 have been removed, as current activity and cost data already reflect the impact of the pandemic. 
• An improved methodology has been implemented to more accurately remove Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme benefits from our data collections. This improves alignment between prices and reported cost data. 
• The NEP and NEC indexation rates remain high, reflecting sustained growth for in-scope expenditure in public hospitals alongside broader inflation.
• Transitional block funding eligibility criteria for community mental health services, introduced last year, will continue in 2026-27.

The determinations are based on an extensive program of research and analysis into healthcare needs and changes, summarised in the Pricing Framework for Australian Public Hospital Services 2026-27. The Administrator of the National Health Funding Pool will use the determinations to calculate the Australian Government funding contribution for Australian public hospital services in the 2026–27 financial year.