Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion today because it gives me the opportunity to outline once again why the coalition, particularly the Morrison government now, is the best friend that Medicare has ever had. We went to the election with a simple promise to the Australian people: more accessible, affordable health care.

My electorate of Ryan is home to just over 39,000 families. Medicines and health care are a priority for them. Health care at times can be a big part of the household budget, and that's why we know the importance of Medicare providing bulk-billed GP rates and the PBS helping with the cost of medicines.

Our commitment to Medicare, the PBS and bulk-billing are rock solid. Our commitment is not a one-off; it is a continual investment now and in the future. We have guaranteed the long-term history of Medicare with the Medicare Guarantee Act. That makes us, as I said, on this side of the House, the best friends that Medicare have ever had.

Unlike those opposite, we can provide a long-term commitment to Australians when it comes to Medicare because we have the proven strong economic management to back it up. We can manage a budget. We know that when you can't manage a budget you can't invest in vital services like health care and education.

So, for all the lofty promises of those opposite, they can't actually deliver them. We saw this with their lack of commitment to the PBS the last time they were in government. Because of—if I recall the quote from their budget—fiscal constraints, they were unable to list medicines on the PBS. Shocking and shameful, yet it is something Labor members are yet to stand up to the Australian people and apologise for. When it came to the crunch, when it came to listing medicines that would save people's lives and improve the quality of life, because of their financial mismanagement, the cupboard was bare.

Despite Labor reaching into their bag of tricks time and time again and putting out a scare campaign or two on Medicare, the facts continue to speak for themselves. Since 2012-13 bulk-billing rates have increased by four full percentage points from 82.2 per cent when Labor was last in office to 86.2 per cent now. In 2018-19 patients made 136.5 million bulk-billed GP visits—an increase of 3.3 million on the previous year alone.

Medicare bulk-billing is at a record level, meaning more Australians are getting to see a GP without having to reach into their hip pocket. In fact, under this government, nine out of 10 visits to the GP are now free. In my electorate of Ryan last year, this was over 613,000 visits, some 171,000 more than in Labor's last term in government in 2012-13.

We're also, of course, broadening the benefits to patients. On 1 July this year, we increased the patient rebate for further GP items on the Medicare Benefits Schedule. Specialist procedures, allied health services and other GP services such as mental health and after-hours services were indexed.

In response to the Medicare Benefits Schedule Review, we will increase Medicare funding from $25 billion in 2018-19 to $31 billion in 2022-23. Let me repeat that: we will increase Medicare funding by $6 billion from $25 billion currently to $31 billion by 2022-23.

To ensure that patients receive procedures in line with best practice to support high-value care, next year changes will be made to items on the Medicare Benefits Schedule in the areas of intensive care, emergency medicines, diagnostic imaging, neurosurgery and neurology. This builds on the MBS Review and commitments that we have made in the 2018-19 MYEFO in the areas of cardiac items, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis and anaesthesia services.

We are not just guaranteeing Medicare, as I've spoken about; we are continuing to make it better for everyday Australians to make sure that when they visit our healthcare professionals they do so with lower costs out of their own pocket and with better services in place. We're not going to stop making these kinds of improvements, because we know how to manage an economy, unlike Labor, which stopped adding medicines to the PBS until 'Fiscal circumstances permitted'. Unlike them, you'll see us continue to list medicines on the PBS at an average rate of one a day. We'll continue to invest as well in the four pillars of our healthcare system, as we set out in our last budget, guaranteeing Medicare and access to medicines, supporting hospitals, prioritising mental health and investing in life-saving research.

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