Cheaper medicine and HECS top of the parliamentary agenda

ABC NEWS (Australia)

With federal parliament sitting this week, the government wants to focus on delivering some of the health policies it promised during the election.

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00:00This was a key part of the pre-election promise and one that was matched by the coalition

00:07in the course of the campaign as well and this will see the cost of scripts on the PBS

00:12come down from their current cap of $31.60 down to $25 for each script and that will

00:20come into place on January 1 next year.

00:23So it's one of the latest of a range of initiatives the federal government has been addressing

00:29when it comes to health.

00:30They see it as a cost of living measure.

00:32It obviously helps people who need to buy medicines but it also has a longer term benefit of ensuring

00:38that people do actually take the medicine that they're prescribed where they can afford

00:43it and that has a longer term kick on effect in terms of health costs.

00:47Already those scripts had come down earlier in the term due to other measures for concession

00:54card holders and people on the age pension.

00:56There will be a freezing of the cost of scripts at $7.70 and that's going to be in place

01:00for many years now going ahead up to 2030.

01:04So certainly this lower medicines promise from the federal government prior to the election

01:08is one that they're now implementing through legislation which will be introduced to parliament

01:13this week.

01:14And Mel, what about that promise to make nine out of ten visits to the GP bulk billed?

01:19Yeah, how could you forget it after seeing the Prime Minister have his Medicare card waved around

01:24ad nauseam throughout the election campaign?

01:26So that's going to be a policy that the government is trying to reach that objective of nine out

01:32of ten visits being bulk billed by tripling the bulk billing incentives and part of that is

01:38giving GPs and GP clinics more for each Medicare service that they provide.

01:44But there's also an additional incentive for clinics that bulk bill 100% of their patients

01:50where they can, that they will get an additional incentive on top.

01:54And the government is hoping that there'll be a big shift in clinics that do what's called

01:59mixed billing at the moment, where they bulk bill some and not others, to be fully bulk

02:03billing and that that will really help lift the rate from where it is now in sort of the

02:08high 70% and gradually over the next couple of years get it up to 90%.

02:13Now, this is another policy that the coalition had matched during the election campaign.

02:18So in terms of the details, the coalition is on board with that.

02:22We have heard the shadow health minister, Anne Ruston, raise her concerns that the government

02:27isn't being accurate in how it's portraying the current situation.

02:32She says that given the government keeps waving around the Medicare card saying that's all you

02:36need when, even best case scenario, one in 10 people will still face some kind of extra

02:42payment, that that's a bit deceptive.

02:45In her words, she says it's a bit of snake oil salesman.

02:47So there's argument about how this policy is being portrayed.

02:51But when it comes to the details of what the government is planning to do here, there is

02:56actually consensus that this is a good thing and that it should help lift bulk billing rates.

03:01So, Mel, a big focus on health during the campaign, and as you pointed out there, certainly the

03:06visuals there of that campaign.

03:07What about extending into this term of parliament?

03:10Are we expecting that same focus on health?

03:12There's certainly, from the government, they've said, look, they want to focus on delivery in

03:16this term, particularly given they did make all of those promises in the election campaign

03:21around bulk building medicines, also extra items for Medicare when it comes to things

03:27like menopause and women's reproductive health.

03:29But the really big task for the government in this term of parliament is one they haven't

03:35really talked about as much, and that's the need for a new agreement, a new long-term

03:40agreement between the Commonwealth and the states and territories around public hospital

03:44funding.

03:45So the previous five-year deal has expired.

03:49It actually got extended by another 12 months to keep negotiations going, because not only does

03:54the Commonwealth need to renegotiate these funding deals with the states and territories,

03:58that is being wrapped up with some of the extra supports for people with less severe

04:05disabilities that the states are meant to be stumping up for.

04:09This is part of the government's efforts to try and constrain the NDIS and not let it blow

04:14out in cost, that they've asked the states to do a little more of the heavy lifting for

04:19people with lower level of severity when it comes to disability.

04:23Now, the states have agreed to do that, but exactly how much, how soon, what can be done

04:29is all wrapped up in the negotiations as part of the other negotiations around public health

04:35funding.

04:36And they're controversial enough in itself because of, as you can imagine, any funding

04:40split is.

04:41So that's the big thing in the health minister's tray that he has to deal with in this term of

04:46parliament.

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