Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Minister Gallagher. Since coming to government in May 2022, strengthening Medicare has been a central priority of the Albanese Labor government. We want Australians to have access to more bulk-billed visits to the doctor. We want Australians to be able to access urgent care when they need it. We want Australians to have access to cheaper medicines on the PBS. Why has the government prioritised funding for strengthening Medicare in the budget?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

GALLAGHER (—) (): I thank Senator Anandah-Rajah for the question and also for her deep knowledge and experience in Australia's health system in her previous life as a specialist doctor working across public health matters. If anyone knows the importance of Medicare and investing in Medicare, it's Senator Ananda-Rajah. We have made it one of the Albanese government's key priorities to make sure that we are strengthening the public health system, particularly in the areas that we have responsibility for in primary care and in the price of medicines.

It was very clear that, when we came to government, we needed to do a lot of work to strengthen Medicare. We needed to bring it back from the brink of nine years of neglect under those opposite, where they had failed to invest, where they had ensured that indexation had been frozen to the point that many practitioners were unable to bulk-bill their patients anymore. What did that mean? It meant pensioners, it meant families, it meant children and it meant parents seeking help for their kids were having to pay more to see a doctor. We did prioritise this in finding additional room in the budget—one of my jobs—to make sure that we were able to resource these essential public services. We've increased investment in Medicare. We've seen the biggest increase in Medicare rebates—more in just two years than the former government did in nine years. I think that says everything about the priority that we place in Medicare.

Last year as a result of us tripling the bulk-billing incentive for pensioners, children and concession card holders, the biggest investment in bulk-billing in its history, more than nine out of 10 visits to the GP were free for people eligible for the incentive. We can see that it works, and we aren't stopping there. We've got more commitments to roll out from November, including the work that this Senate passed on cheaper medicines yesterday. (Time expired)

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

Senator Ananda-Rajah, first supplementary?

Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The PBS sits alongside Medicare as one of the foundations of Australia's health system. Making medicines cheaper for all Australians is essential to easing cost-of-living pressures and improving the health of Australians. Since coming to government what actions has the Albanese government taken to make medicines cheaper for all Australians?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Ananda-Rajah for the question. Again, this is one of those areas where we came to government and saw that not enough had been done to make sure people could afford their medicines. So it was about addressing Medicare and bulk-billing and also making sure that medicines are affordable, because we know that, when they're not, people don't take them and their health suffers.

The legislation that passed the parliament yesterday means that from the beginning of next year the general patient co-payment will be $25 for a PBS medicine. It has not been that low since 2004. That is a result of the legislation and the commitment we took to the last election to make sure people could afford their medicines. This built on the commitment we made in the previous term to bring the price of medicines down to $31.60 and now down to $25. And of course the other thing we did in the last term, which those opposite opposed, was 60-day prescribing, to make sure people can get two scripts for the price of one, and those opposite opposed it. (Time expired)

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

Senator Ananda-Rajah, second supplementary.

Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

More bulk-billing, more urgent care clinics and cheaper medicines—all these primary care interventions work together to improve the health of Australians. How do these initiatives support the health of Australians? And how has the Albanese Labor government ensured that we are able to fund the health care Australians rely on?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Ananda-Rajah for the supplementary. Well, it's because the government has prioritised investment in and delivered on the things that matter for the Australian people. They care about their health care, they care about Medicare, they care about the price of medicines, they care about Medicare urgent care clinics and they care about getting access to out-of-hours care for non-urgent conditions. That is why we have worked together across the government to find room for these really important investments.

Those opposite criticise spending. They see it as wasteful when you invest in Medicare, when you invest in medicines. We see it in the positions they've taken. They tried to ridicule the Medicare urgent care clinics, until they all started sending letters asking for one in their electorates. I think that was the turning of the tide, when the letters came flooding in: 'Oh, could I have one of those things we don't like?' The Medicare urgent care clinics have been an important part, as have cheaper medicines, and this government will always prioritise Australians' health care. (Time expired)