Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Last week, the government—indeed, Australia—celebrated Medicare's 40th birthday. To commemorate this, the Prime Minister said:

My Government is delivering on its commitment to strengthen Medicare and make it easier and cheaper to get quality healthcare, by tripling the bulk billing incentive and making medicines cheaper.

The health minister said:

It was a Labor Government that built Medicare and it is only a Labor Government who will continue to protect and strengthen Medicare.

Yet, on the ground, I am hearing and seeing from an increasing number of Tasmanians that they are finding it more difficult to see a doctor. We have the lowest bulk-billing take-up in the nation, and waiting times to see specialists are way longer than they have ever been. So, Minister, what is your government and your Labor senators from Tasmania doing to encourage more doctors to take up bulk-billing in Tasmania?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Lambie for the question. It's a really important question on how we can continue to strengthen Medicare, particularly in states where there have historically been issues around bulk-billing. We have the same issues here in the ACT as Tasmania around bulk-billing, with GP shortages and shortages for specialists as well. It is something that small jurisdictions have always struggled with because a large number of medical professionals tend to move to some of the bigger cities.

But I think when you look back on the last 18 months of what we've tried to do—and, yes, the health system is massive and it often takes time for investments to show results—what we've seen with the urgent care clinics and with the bulk-billing rates across the nation in just the few months since we provided that tripling of the incentive for bulk-billing are good results. They are early results, but they are good results. I think the GP bulk-billing rate rose by 2.1 percentage points in the first two months since that tripling of the bulk-billing incentive was introduced through the budget.

I know the Minister for Health and Aged Care has been working with the Premier of Tasmania around models of care that work for Tasmania, including, I think, partnerships between the hospitals and primary health care, acknowledging some of the particular issues that Tasmania has. I know that the urgent care clinics are up and running and are incredibly popular.

But there is more to be done. We've got to encourage more people into general practice. We've got to look at incentives to support that. The health minister is doing all of those things. But we inherited a system that was failing. Bulk-billing rates were declining. GPs were under enormous pressure. We have made the investments that those opposite never did to fix it. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie, a first supplementary?

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In Tasmania, especially in regional areas like the north-west, we have the oldest, sickest and poorest Australians. I am hearing from GPs, specialists and allied health professionals that it's getter harder and harder to service regional areas. Waiting times for their patients are increasing. Goodness me, in Burnie itself, it takes six months to get a podiatry appointment for anyone. Minister, how do you reconcile longer waiting times and reduced access to health services with 'continuing to protect and strengthen Medicare'?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think I answered some of that in the first question. I would say that the government's responsibility around Medicare is to strengthen it and to provide those investments in it. On bulk-billing, where I said the national average was a 2.1 per cent increase across Australia, in Tasmania in two months the incentive increased bulk-billing by 5.7 per cent. That means Tasmanians saved $990,000 between November and December through the bulk-billing incentive. Tasmanians have saved more than $5 million on cheaper medicines. They have saved money through the 60-day prescribing. We know that there are a lot of people who are eligible for that. We've got the urgent care clinics, where we've had over 13,500 presentations in those areas. We've got the GP grants going out. Tasmanians have got $3.46 million worth of those grants. But there is more to be done, because we want everyone to have access to affordable health care in this country.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie, second supplementary?

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As part of its 40th birthday, Medicare is releasing a 'special edition Medicare card in 2024 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Australia's world-class universal health insurance scheme'. I'm just wondering: how much is that costing the taxpayer, for a brand-new shiny little card when we've already got one?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll see if there's any further information I can provide on that. My understanding is they are going to be issued to people whose cards expire this year—so it's for people whose cards are going to expire; it won't be a re-issuing for everybody. People who have a digital card—those who have it on their myGov app or through the Medicare app—will also see it reflected on that electronic Medicare card. But my understanding is it's only to be provided to those who have a card that expires this year.