Published on March 23, 2008 at 4:02 AM
The Australian Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says there may be a delay in the implementation of a long-term health agreement between the states.
The Federal Government is in the process of negotiating a new five-year agreement with the states as the current health agreement expires on June 30th.
Ms Roxon says a short-term agreement is a possibility.
The Federal Opposition is calling for an interim agreement until the Government's Health and Hospitals Reform Commission reports back with a plan for the future of the health system.
The Health Minister says the government wants to be assured the reform process can be implemented when negotiations with the states begin and says an interim agreement is a possibility in the meantime instead of the planned five year agreement.
The federal government-appointed Health and Hospitals Reform Commission is due to complete an interim report by the end of April but will not deliver its final report until mid-2009.
The Commission has been set the task of working out how the performance reporting system will operate and making recommendations for long-term improvements to the health system.