Anthony Albanese's Medicare revolution revealed: Push for Aussies to to see ... trends now
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Better access to visit GPs after hours, longer consults and improving digital health have been revealed as some of the Albanese government's priorities as it seeks to overhaul Medicare.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler on Friday highlighted the key recommendations of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce report after saying the national medical insurance scheme currently 'does not fit the needs of Australians.'
'There needs to be reform but clearly, affordability is a major challenge,' he said.
'I talked about the fact that that gap fee has increased above the Medicare rebate for the first time in the history of Medicare.
'An older population with a much, much higher incidence of complex chronic care. As I think the National Cabinet said, it's not just about more money - it's about getting the settings right, about getting the policy right.'
Mr Butler said six years of a Medicare rebate freeze had created a major problem with the scheme's bulk billing model that would take 'more than one budget' to fix.
He said said funding for the taskforce's recommendations would be released in the May budget.
He did not rule out a
