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Anthony Albanese’s Medicare revolution revealed: Push for Australians to finally be able to see doctors after 6pm and visit GPs for longer
- Strengthening the Medicare Task Force report released
- Health Minister Mark Butler outlined his recommendations.
- Improving access to doctors after hours is part of the plan
GPs staying open after 6pm, longer consultations and improving digital health have emerged as some of the Albanian government’s priorities in its push to reform Medicare.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler highlighted key recommendations in the Strengthening Medicare Task Force report on Friday after saying the national health insurance scheme currently “does not meet the needs of Australians”.
“There has to be reform, but clearly, affordability is a big challenge,” he said.
‘I talked about the fact that that gap fee has risen above Medicare reimbursement for the first time in Medicare history.
Longer consultations with GPs and services that remain open beyond 6:00 pm are some of the recommendations made regarding the Medicare review.
‘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 having the right setup, having the right policy.’
Butler said a six-year Medicare reimbursement freeze had created a major problem with the scheme’s mass billing model that would require “more than one budget” to fix.
He said the funding for the task force’s recommendations will be published in the May budget.
He did not rule out a change to Medicare reimbursement for health professionals, but he did rule out an increase in the Medicare tax to pay for the reforms, saying the money had been allocated in the last budget.
“We were saying that there was a clear problem after a six-year freeze on Medicare reimbursements. We have tried to be absolutely honest and transparent with the Australian people that there is a real challenge here.’
Butler nominated recommendations that the government would likely act on.
‘We need to improve access after normal office hours. The previous government did not allocate a single dollar to support the general practice that operates past 6:00 pm after June 30.
“All the after-hours programs that for many, many years have allowed general medicine to offer care to patients after 6:00 p.m. at night, they all end on June 30. So, obviously, we’ll have to answer that.”
The task force report also recommends longer medical visits for people with chronic illnesses, mental health problems and family violence.
‘[The report] recommends that GPs be able to bill for longer consultations, particularly reflecting the more complex chronic nature of so many of their patient presentations.’
The minister also noted improved access to urgent care, streamlined relationships between Commonwealth-provided primary care and state hospitals, and an overhaul of the digital health system.
AMA President Professor Steve Robson said while many of the measures would be welcome, few of the recommendations would make an immediate difference to patients.
“The problem is that there is absolutely nothing in the report released today that would allow Australians who have difficulty seeing a GP or who have difficulty affording to see a GP to see that GP more quickly, more affordable, and Australians who are waiting for operations and surgeries to relieve pain etc., to make these procedures faster,’ Professor Robson said.
Earlier, at a press conference following a national cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister and state premiers indicated there would be no further details on the changes to Medicare until they meet again in April.