Minister can’t quantify NDIS savings post-hospital deal
The health secretary failed to quantify how much reforms to the NDIS following the long-awaited deal on hospital funding would save the federal budget.
After lengthy negotiations, the Albanian government signed a hospital financing agreement to provide an extra $25 billion to provincial and regional governments.
The deal was struck on Friday after multiple unsuccessful rounds of negotiations over plans that also aimed to limit growth in spending on the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
But the launch of a program to take children with mild to moderate autism off the NDIS and into state-based programs under the $2 billion Developing Children plan has been delayed by several months before it was due to be fully implemented in 2028.
Health Minister Mark Butler could not say on Sunday how much the changes would lead to budget savings for the $50 billion-a-year NDIS.
Labor is trying to limit annual NDIS spending growth to six per cent.
“This is a huge program for the Commonwealth,” he told Sky News.
“We need to go through a budget process to determine the timeframe that will bring growth rates down.
“We must go through a process with the disability community to co-design changes that will deliver these savings.”
Mr Butler said the NDIS had expanded rapidly and had gone “off track” under the former coalition government.
Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston welcomed the agreement, which would give hospitals an extra $25 billion over five years, but criticized how long the strike had lasted.
“Frankly, spending two years negotiating a deal and leaving states, territories and Australians who need hospital services in limbo is truly unacceptable,” he said.
Senator Ruston said states and territories needed extra funding due to the Albanian government’s failures, echoing criticism of some state Labor administrations that elderly people are being kept in hospitals due to aged care shortages.
“We’ve seen thousands and thousands of older Australians have their beds blocked in our hospital system due to the government’s failure in aged care, costing hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said.
Mr Butler also announced on Sunday that Australians with aggressive prostate cancer will save $900 on new subsidized drug prescriptions.
Andrigo-10 blocks hormones that accelerate the growth of cancer and will be available to patients for $25 or $7.70 for those with a discount card.
“(Prostate) cancer is the most common cancer in men… and still claims the lives of around 4,000 men each year,” Mr Butler said.
