Anthony Albanese: “Stronger Medicare is at the heart of our government, and it will be the beating heart of our election campaign.” Photo: Michelle Kroll.
A re-elected Labor government will make sure nine out of 10 visits to the doctor will be totally bulk-billed and free from out-of-pocket expenses by 2030, Anthony Albanese has promised.
The Prime Minister made the bold pre-election commitment on Sunday (23 February) at a campaign-style rally in Launceston, outlining his plan to spend $8.5 billion over four years and triple the incentive for GPs to provide almost universal bulk-billing services.
He promised 18 million extra bulk-billed GP visits per year, 400 nursing scholarships and 2000 new GP trainees a year by 2028.
He added that free GP visits will no longer be something only enjoyed by pensioners and children.
Declaring it to be the largest single injection into Medicare since Labor created the scheme in 1984 (with an earlier version of universal heat care called Medibank having also been established by Labor in 1975), the PM has kickstarted the election campaign – without setting a date yet.
“Stronger Medicare is at the heart of our government, and it will be the beating heart of our election campaign because we understand Medicare is at the heart of people’s lives. Fundamental to your family’s health and security. Front and centre in helping with the cost of living,” he said.
“And a measure of the most Australian idea there is – the fair go.
“That’s why Medicare is much more than an ordinary policy or program. Medicare is a promise that government makes to every citizen, that if something goes wrong, if you get hurt, if your child is sick, if you need help, you are never on your own.”
But if the Prime Minister was hoping to confound the Opposition with the announcement, he was disappointed.
The Coalition immediately promised to match Labor’s Medicare commitment and even rolled out its own $9 billion health commitment in response.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he would direct funding towards more access to free GP visits, with another $500 million to mental health services and training.
“It will help build those bulk billing rates back up to what they were under a Coalition government,” he said.
Shadow health minister Anne Rushton said the Coalition would match Labor’s commitment dollar-for-dollar.
“Australians deserve the quality healthcare that they have been successively denied over the last three years,” she said.
“We will not stand in the way of a mess that the Labor government have made that they’re now seeking to try and remedy.”
But Mr Albanese warned of believing anything the Coalition promises over Medicare, using his speech to remind Australians that Mr Dutton was once the health minister.
“A decade of conflict and chaos, with Peter Dutton front and centre,” the Prime Minister said.
“A decade of cuts that pushed our health system to breaking point and put bulk-billing in free fall.
“In 10 years, the Liberals turned bulk-billing from a service you could count on to something you have to search for.
“And that wasn’t an accident born of neglect or their incompetence – it was their goal all along.
“It’s why Peter Dutton’s number one priority as health minister was a GP tax designed to destroy bulk-billing altogether. He wanted to impose a medicine tax. And a hospital tax on every Australian who had to seek care at an emergency department.
“And when he couldn’t get his way, he launched a six-year freeze on Medicare rebates for GPs that stripped away billions.
“Remember that next time you hear the Liberals talk about getting ‘back on track’. Remember what they want to go back to. Remember the track they put Medicare on.
“The dead-end road to a system where every Australian paid more for less.”
ForHealth Group, the largest bulk-billing general practice provider in Australia, praised the government’s commitment to boosting Medicare.
Chief executive officer Andrew Cohen described Labor’s policy promise as a vote of confidence in the scheme.
“The magnitude of this investment has been what the primary care sector has been calling for to enable true reform,” he said.
“Bulk-billing will now be financially sustainable for both the GP practitioners and for the health care clinic.
“This would be a vital change to the vulnerable outer metropolitan and regional communities we operate in, where cost-of-living pressures and private fees are impacting essential visits to the GP. This is a great outcome for the health of all Australians.
“It will lead to investment in more practices, better distribution of practices and GPs, longer hours of operation, and more local graduates committing to General Practice as a pathway.”
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