The Australian Government says a $2.2 billion package of Strengthening Medicare measures will address immediate challenges in primary care, take pressure off the hospital system and lay the foundations for long-term Medicare reform.
The measures announced on Friday, 28 April aim to deliver on the recommendations of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report and will be funded through the Strengthening Medicare Fund.
The measures include:
- Supporting workforces to work at top of scope, including pharmacists, paramedics
- Expanding the nursing workforce to improve access to primary care
- Improving access to and delivery of after-hours primary care
- Introducing My Medicare to support wrap around care for patients registered with their local GP through new blended payment models
- Providing flexible funding for multi-disciplinary team-based models to improve quality of care.
- Investing in digital health to improve health outcomes
The Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler said the government was committed to ensuring all Australians, no matter their income or where they lived, could access the healthcare they needed, when and where they needed it.
“The Government is strengthening Medicare for future generations – by addressing current challenges and seizing opportunities to improve the health and aged care system.”
This table provides an overview of the measures announced on Friday.
Further details on the funding of these policies will be provided in next Tuesday’s Federal Budget.