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

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing, Senator McAllister. In its first term, the Albanese Labor government delivered cost-of-living relief to all Australians by strengthening Medicare and cutting the cost of medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. How is the government supporting more Australians to access cheaper medicines via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme?

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

Before I begin answering, I indicate that Senator McCarthy tells me that we are also welcoming the Northern Territory's deputy opposition leader, Mr Dheran Young, in the gallery. I welcome him here today.

It's a great question, Senator Polley, because the Albanese government is slashing the cost of medicines. That is providing real relief for families across Australia. It's why, earlier this year, the government passed the cheaper medicines bill. From next year, people will pay no more than $25 when filling up a prescription on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. That is a 20 per cent cut in the maximum cost of medicines under the PBS. It will save Australians more than $200 million a year. The people who need help most, like Australian pensioners and concession card holders, will have the cost of their PBS medicines frozen at just $7.70 until 2030.

But that's not all. We are doing so much more because we want the PBS to be the best it can be, offering more Australians effective and affordable treatments. It's why a month ago, on 1 October, Australians affected by breast cancer, by rare kidney disease and by a range of other conditions received critical cost-of-living relief, with access to even cheaper medicines on the PBS. Take for example TRUQAP, which treats locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer that cannot be removed by surgery. Without listing on the PBS, a course of treatment of TRUQAP would cost a patient more than $98,000. Now we are delivering savings for up to 3,000 patients who will benefit from this PBS listing. And, for the first time in 30 years, we have listed new contraceptive pills on the PBS, because this is a government that listens to women right around the country who've told us they want more choice over their contraception.

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

Thank you, Minister. Australian women have been waiting a very long time. Australians shouldn't have to choose between seeing the GP when they need and paying their bills. On 1 November the Albanese Labor government delivered the largest ever investment in the history of Medicare, which is delivering on the government's commitment to restore bulk-billing. How will this investment help more Australians see a GP for free? I was with Assistant Minister White on Sunday with a bulk-billing—100 per cent in Newstead in my home state—

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

That is good news, Senator Polley. In May, the Australian people voted for a government that would deliver strong and affordable health care for all Australians. Last Saturday the Albanese Labor government's largest ever single investment in the history of Medicare—an $8½ billion dollar investment—kicked in. What does that mean? It does mean more bulk-billing for more Australians. For the first time, bulk-billing incentives will be paid to GPs for every patient that they bulk-bill. And it means it is now easier to find a bulk-billed GP appointment. Around 1,000 clinics have indicated they are moving to full bulk-billing, having previously charged gap fees. That is what Labor governments do. They deliver real benefits for everyday Australians. Our government is getting on with the job, delivering affordable health care for Australians, because the only card you should need when you're sick is your Medicare card

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

Minister, what other measures is the Albanese Labor government taking to deliver affordable health care to all Australians? Why has the government chosen this approach to build and protect Medicare, unlike those opposite?

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

Thank you, Senator Polley. The Albanese Labor government will always protect and strengthen Medicare, whether it is expanding bulk-billing, delivering cheaper medicines or delivering the 137 urgent care clinics, which will mean that four out of five Australians will live within a 20-minute drive of an urgent care clinic. I'd invite the Senate to compare that to the record of those opposite. They gutted the Medicare system. They tried to end bulk-billing with the GP co-payment. They froze Medicare rebates so that it would be harder to see a doctor, and the only way they could get their bulk-billing rates up was by inflating them, relying on a massive number of COVID related bulk-billing appointments that were taken during the pandemic. They don't agree on very much on the other side, but the one thing they can agree on is gutting Medicare, where Labor will always protect it and always strengthen it.