Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to give a brief contribution on the Health Legislation Amendment (Medicare Compliance and Other Measures) Bill 2022. This bill amends the Health Insurance Act 1973, the National Health Act 1953 and the Dental Benefits Act 2008 to protect the viability of Medicare. The bill supports the integrity of the Medicare Benefits Schedule, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the Child Dental Benefits Schedule by addressing inappropriate practice as well as protecting payment integrity, encouraging compliance with claiming requirements and supporting consistency. Medicare, including the Medicare Benefits Schedule and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, provides Australians with access to free hospital care and more-affordable health care and medicines, while the Child Dental Benefits Schedule provides children with access to dental services.

The primary intention of the bill is to strengthen the compliance powers of the Professional Services Review, the PSR, which is the agency responsible for reviewing and examining possible inappropriate practice relating to Medicare or the PBS, and also to add a degree of flexibility to the PSR's ability to address any inappropriate practice. This is the same legislation introduced by the former coalition government in the 46th Parliament via the Health Legislation Amendment (Medicare Compliance and Other Measures) Bill 2021. This legislation formed part of the coalition's commitment to protecting the integrity and financial viability of Medicare. Medicare is there for all Australians and underpins our world-class health system. The former government were stewards in ensuring the viability of Medicare and supporting access to affordable health care for all Australians, having introduced this legislation in the last parliament. The coalition oversaw record investment in Medicare, ensuring that all Australians can access healthcare services no matter where they live. And we were committed to investing $133 billion over four years into Medicare, including $31.4 billion in 2022-23 and an increase of $7.3 billion compared with the 2021-22 budget, $32.3 billion in 2023-24 and $33.9 billion in 2024-25. The coalition will always be committed to supporting the integrity and financial viability of Medicare in ensuring that all Australians have access to our world-class health system into the future.

Once again, the Labor Party are prioritising the passage of one of our bills in recognition that the coalition was a leader when it came to important healthcare policy and improving the sustainability of Australia's world-class health system for the benefit of all Australians.