State and territory leaders are calling on the Federal Government to take action in reforming Medicare, Australia’s primary healthcare system. With the current system facing dire straits, the Albanese government has already taken steps by allocating $750 million to strengthen it – but experts say this is just a drop in the bucket. The cost of true reform could be billions, and many have called for urgent action from Canberra to ensure that Australians receive quality healthcare services.
In order to make healthcare the top priority of the first meeting of the national cabinet in 2023, state and territory leaders are pleading with the federal government to reform Australia’s “broken” general practitioner system. State and territory governments claim their options are restricted since Medicare, which pays for GP rebates, is a federal government responsibility.
Prior to the next national cabinet meeting in February, the premier of both Victoria and New South Wales came together recently to push for a significant revamp of the GP system, cutting across party lines.
Doctors have been predicting a crisis in primary healthcare for years, with GPs unable to keep up with demand. The Abbott government froze Medicare rebates for GP consultations in 2014, and the majority of physicians contend that the refund is too low to fully defray the costs of providing basic medical care.
Since then, every state and territory leader in Australia has replied, stating that primary healthcare needs to take priority.
According to Chief Minister Andrew Barr, the ACT government has been pressing the Commonwealth to adequately fund Medicare and provide access to reasonable GP services for years. Additionally, Minister Barr noted that since the Abbott administration began reducing Medicare, similar concerns have been brought up every year. This information is not new, the federal government is the only thing that has changed.
Acting Premier of Tasmania, Michael Ferguson, said that the state government has also been advocating for improved GP access for many years. The public health system is in “material crisis,” according to South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, and has to be rectified.
Since fewer patients are being bulk-billed nowadays, hospitals are under strain, according to state leaders like Queensland’s acting premier Steven Miles. According to Mr. Miles, individuals put off seeking primary medical care until it is too late or until they get more ill. As a result, patients present to the hospital at a higher degree of acuity than they would have if they had access to adequate primary care from a general practitioner.
While it would be improper to anticipate what the national cabinet debates, a representative for the WA state government stated some improvements to Medicare were a priority.
GPs are a crucial component of the healthcare system, and modernising Medicare is necessary, according to Natasha Fyles, the chief minister of the Northern Territory and the minister of health.
If you can’t reform the health system, make significant changes, and have better integration after a pandemic, you never will, according to NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet. Mr. Perrottet also stated last week that every Premier in the nation agreed that the GP network needed to alter at the federal level in order to enhance health outcomes for individuals all around the nation.
Mark Butler, the federal health minister, acknowledged the need for changes to the healthcare system during a press conference last week.
