Labor spruiks Medicare spending as parliament resumes
The government will express its confidence on health, arguing that billions of dollars of Medicare subsidies are already paying off as parliament continues to sit for another week.
On Saturday, massive subsidies aimed at bulk-billing nine out of 10 doctor appointments took effect by 2030.
The $8.5 billion policy was a key part of Labour’s re-election plan earlier this year, but some doctors have said they would not accept new incentives because offering free appointments would still not be cost-effective.
Under the plan, payments that previously encouraged GPs to bulk bill children and concession card holders have been expanded to all Australians.
A new reward payment was also set for clinics where each doctor collectively bills each patient for regular appointments.
Over the weekend, Health Minister Mark Butler released new data showing more than 1,000 practices are fully interested in bulk billing.
Other figures released on Monday show that although the majority of clinics planning to offer free appointments to all patients are in cities, regional and rural areas will also benefit.
Of the apps seeking to expand bulk billing, 622 were located in metropolitan areas, 108 in regional centers, 73 in large rural towns, and 248 in smaller towns or small remote communities.
The electorates of Ballarat in Victoria and Rankin and Hinkler in Queensland are expected to see the biggest increase in the number of GP practices bulk billing.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will return to parliament to push through the changes after attending a series of major global summits in Malaysia and South Korea last week.
The Opposition’s internal dramas on climate and energy policy will be on full display in the coming days after the National Party voted to abandon policies of net zero emissions by 2050, setting off a fight with the Liberals who are yet to finalize their approach to the issue.
Liberal MPs insisted they were not beholden to regional colleagues on the issue, while National Leader David Littleproud said he would respect his coalition partner’s internal processes.
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