Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

What remains the government's policy is that we want to protect Medicare for the long term. We want to ensure that vulnerable patients—in particular pensioners, concession card holders, children and the like—have access to bulk-billing arrangements, but that those of us who can afford to make a small contribution when accessing medical services will do so. The specifics in relation to how all of that will work moving forward are the subject of consultations by the Minister for Health, my valued friend and colleague, Ms Sussan Ley. I am sure she is working closely with the medical profession and other stakeholders on the detail in relation to all of this.

But let me make this point. As a nation we have a challenge to ensure that all Australians can have timely and affordable access to high-quality health care in a way that is also affordable for taxpayers over the medium to long term. That is our challenge, and we are taking that challenge on in the context of an ageing population, increasing demand for medical services and improvement in medical technology and the like. The cost of medical services across Australia has been increasing quite rapidly. About 10 years ago it was about $8 billion; it is about $20 billion now and it is on track to be about $34 billion in about 2024.

As a nation we cannot put our heads in the sand. As a nation we have to grapple with the situation where government expenditure on health is growing more rapidly than our income; it is growing more rapidly than the size of our economy; it is growing more rapidly than inflation, and it is projected to continue to do so for some time to come. In terms of the specific way forward, the Minister for Health will continue to conduct consultations with all relevant stakeholders, and there will be more to say about these things in the future.