Albury Wodonga Health simply doesn't get anywhere near enough per capita funding as the other big regionals, such as Ballarat and Bendigo.

This shows just how good a job is done on the Border, given patient numbers are higher than anywhere else in regional Victoria other than the almost-metropolitan centre of Geelong.

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But it's an issue that just doesn't seem to have got the kind of traction required over the life of the entity's 12-year existence.

While it has operated during that time under the former Victorian Health and Human Services Department, the fact that NSW shares half the cost makes things uniquely complex - or so it would seem.

No doubt though our local health chiefs could quickly show government what's required by producing the dollar amounts essential to match the operational statistics.

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And now we have the added complexity of a suggested "mega merger" of Albury-Wodonga, Wangaratta- and Benalla-based public health services.

The detail though doesn't go much further than the revelation in Victoria's Parliament by Benambra MP Bill Tilley, who was was motivated to speak out of concern such a merger would be a "retrograde" step.

It would appear anything like a merger has only, for now, has been the subject of preliminary discussions within Albury Wodonga Health's own board, but just towards the possibility of instigating a feasibility study into how this would work.

Regardless, the priority should instead be on getting the Victorian government to provide a genuine commitment to our share of the public health dollar.

This is a far more pressing, and indeed solvable, issue than fanciful thinking of mergers.

The unwieldy beast that was Health and Human Services is a classic case of bigger definitely not translating to better.

Surely there are lessons in that.

It's time to forget about mergers and instead give Albury Wodonga Health a genuine opportunity to operate at maximum potential in the interests of our community.

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