Anthony Albanese’s Medicare revolution revealed: Push for Aussies to finally be able to see doctors after 6pm and visit GPs for longer
- Strengthening Medicare Taskforce report released
- Health Minister Mark Butler outlined its recommendations
- Improving access to doctors after-hours one part of plan
Better access to visit GPs after hours, longer consults and improving digital health have been revealed as some of the Albanese government’s priorities as it seeks to overhaul Medicare.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler on Friday highlighted the key recommendations of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce report after saying the national medical insurance scheme currently ‘does not fit the needs of Australians.’
‘There needs to be reform but clearly, affordability is a major challenge,’ he said.
‘I talked about the fact that that gap fee has increased above the Medicare rebate for the first time in the history of Medicare.
‘An older population with a much, much higher incidence of complex chronic care. As I think the National Cabinet said, it’s not just about more money – it’s about getting the settings right, about getting the policy right.’
Mr Butler said six years of a Medicare rebate freeze had created a major problem with the scheme’s bulk billing model that would take ‘more than one budget’ to fix.
He said said funding for the taskforce’s recommendations would be released in the May budget.
He did not rule out a change to the Medicare rebate for health professionals but did rule out an increase to the Medicare levy to pay for the reforms, saying the money had been allocated in the last budget.
‘We were saying there was a clear problem after six years of Medicare rebate freeze. We’ve tried to be absolutely honest and transparent with the Australian people that there is a real challenge here.’
Mr Butler nominated recommendations the government was likely to act on.
‘We need to improve access after usual office hours. The former government did not allocate a single dollar to support general practice operating beyond 6pm after June 30.
‘All of the after-hours programs that for many, many years have allowed general practice to offer patients care after 6pm into the night all finish on June 30. So we will obviously have to respond to that.’
The taskforce’s report also recommends longer GP consults for those with chronic conditions, mental health problems and family violence.
‘[The report] recommends the ability for GPs to be able to bill for longer consults -particularly reflecting the more complex, chronic nature of so many presentations from their patients.’
Better access to urgent care, streamlined relations between Commonwealth-provided primary care and state hospitals, and an overhaul of the digital health system were also flagged by the minister.
AMA president Professor Steve Robson said while many of the measures would be welcome, few of the recommendations would make an immediate difference for patients.
‘The problem is there is absolutely nothing in the report as released today that will allow Australians who are struggling to see a GP or struggling to afford to see a GP to see that GP any more quickly, any more affordability, and Australians who are waiting for operations and surgery to relieve pain and so on, to have these procedures any more quickly,’ Professor Robson said.
Earlier at a press conference following a meeting of national cabinet, the Prime Minister and state premiers indicated there wouldn’t be any more details into the changes to Medicare until they meet again in April.
