Ken Ticehurst (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Will the minister advise the House of recent measures taken by the government to improve Australians’ general health and reduce their susceptibility to disease? How is this improving health generally as well as for the people in my electorate of Dobell?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Dobell for his question. I note in passing that there are already 30 schools in his electorate that have taken advantage of the government’s Healthy School Communities grants to improve the diets in their school canteens. As everyone knows, prevention is better than cure, and the government is building a health system which does not just treat illness but which promotes wellness too. The government wants our system to anticipate problems and to treat these early. We are doing this through a series of health checks which are now funded under Medicare. Since 1999 people over 75 have been able to access annual health checks under Medicare, and I am pleased that some one-quarter of a million people accessed such a check in the last year.

Indigenous people of all ages are able to access biannual health checks under Medicare. In the last year almost 20,000 Indigenous people did so. From 1 November, everyone turning 45 with risk factors will be able to access a comprehensive health check funded by Medicare. As well, Medicare is now funding more comprehensive treatment for people with chronic diseases. In the first year of its operation, some 650,000 GP management plans were put into practice. In the last financial year there were some 250,000 team care plans for people with complex care needs, and there were a half a million allied health consultations under these plans, which was double that of the previous year. These are not the end but the beginning of changes which this government is making to promote good health. This government will continue to support incremental changes to make our great Medicare system even better.