Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator McAllister. Addressing cost-of-living pressures is a key priority for the Albanese Labor government. How will the government invest in bulk-billing, cheaper medicines and urgent care clinics to help all Australians with the cost of health care?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Polley. No-one should have to check their bank balance to see if they can afford to go to the doctor. Health care should be accessible for everybody. It doesn't matter how much you make and it doesn't matter where you live. That is why, in our first term, the Albanese government delivered $3.5 billion in 2023, which restored access to bulk-billing for the 11 million patients that it covered. From 1 November 2025, Labor will deliver the largest ever investment in the history of Medicare—$8½ billion to expand bulk-billing to every Australian and to create an additional, new incentive payment for practices that bulk-bill every patient. Nine out of 10 GP visits will be bulk-billed by 2030, and fully bulk-billed practices will grow to around 4,800 nationally—that is triple the current number. That's what real cost-of-living relief looks like. We will also expand the availability of free, urgent health care by opening another 50 Medicare urgent care clinics. That's 14 new clinics in New South Wales, 12 in Victoria, 10 in Queensland, six in Western Australia, three in Tasmania, three in South Australia, one in the Northern Territory and one in the ACT.

When Labor came to government, we promised 50 urgent care clinics. How many did we deliver? Eighty-seven. Once all of these clinics are open, four out of five Australians will live within a 20-minute drive of an urgent care clinic. They're a game changer for families. One-third of patients are under the age of 15 and people won't have to pay a dollar to access these urgent care clinics. All you will need is your Medicare card. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Polley, first supplementary?

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a government that actually delivers for the Australian people. The out-of-pocket costs at the doctor's office can be a big hit to the hip pocket of many Australian families. What other actions are the Albanese Labor government taking to deliver cheaper medicines for all Australians?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In 2023, we delivered the largest cut to the cost of medicines in the history of the PBS. The maximum cost for a script fell to $30—that was from $42.50, but we want to deliver even more cheaper medicines, and that is why the government will make sure that a prescription on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme costs no more than $25. This is a 20 per cent cut in the maximum cost of medicines under the PBS. It's saving Australians more than $200 million a year. Pensioners and concession card holders will have the cost of their PBS medicines frozen at $7.70 until 2030. The last time medicines were this cheap was in 2004 and—make no mistake—this is what Labor governments do.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Polley, second supplementary?

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Medicare system was designed to deliver health care to everyone that needs it. The Albanese Labor government has made significant investments to strengthen Medicare. Why are these significant investments needed?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for the question, Senator Polley. When Labor came to government in 2022, the consequences of a coalition government neglecting this issue for a decade were there for all to see. The coalition's six-year freeze of the Medicare rebate ripped billions and billions of dollars out of Medicare and the AMA estimates it would have taken $8.3 billion out of Medicare by 2027-28. It wasn't just a budget headline, because those decisions made it harder for people to see a doctor. This situation was completely untenable. It led to a genuine decline in access to health care across the country. The Albanese government's response to this crisis—a product of coalition neglect and ideological blinkeredness—is simply this: we will put back every dollar into Medicare that the coalition's rebate freeze took out— (Time expired)