<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>338878</docID> <postdate>2025-02-23 15:47:30</postdate> <headline>Medicare the winner as parties match funding pledges</headline> <body><p><img class="wp-image-301617 size-full" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/20150121001090055090-original-resized-e1706737899111.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p> <caption>Labor has promised $8.5 billion to expand bulk billing and train extra GPs and nurses. Photo: Joel Carrett/AAP</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong><b>Tess Ikonomou </b></strong>and </span><strong style="color: #800000; font-family: sans-serif; font-style: italic;">Adrian Black </strong><span style="color: #800000; font-family: sans-serif; font-style: italic;">in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>Billions of dollars will be poured into Medicare no matter who wins government, with the coalition promising to match Labor's landmark spending pledge on health care.</strong></p> <p>Peter Dutton and opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston say a coalition government will provide an "historic" $9 billion, including an already announced plan to boost mental health by $500 million.</p> <p>"By absolutely every measure, the Albanese government has failed Australians on health," Senator Ruston said on Sunday.</p> <p>"Every Australian knows that it's harder and more expensive to see a GP."</p> <p>The opposition called on Labor to match its commitment to mental health support.</p> <p>Senator Ruston said the coalition wouldn't stand in the way of Labor's $8.5 billion promise to boost health funding, which she described as a clean-up on a "mess" they created.</p> <p>While the cost of living is the most pressing issue for voters, health care is also highly ranked as a priority.</p> <p>In a speech in Launceston on Sunday, Anthony Albanese unveiled Labor's centrepiece election promise for the unprecedented expansion of Medicare.</p> <p>The prime minister said his government wants nine out of 10 visits to the GP to be free by the end of the decade.</p> <p>"That's an ambitious goal but people deserve ambition from their government on Medicare," he said.</p> <p>"Because just as every Australian wants the best possible health care for their family, our government wants the best possible health care for every Australian."</p> <p>Mr Albanese said Labor wanted to deliver on the "true promise and purpose" of Medicare.</p> <p>"If the Australian people entrust our Labor government with a second term, a single, straightforward objective will be the foundation of our health policy," he said.</p> <p>A federal election is due by May 17.</p> <p>Fewer GP clinics have been taking on bulk-billed patients as they struggle to keep up with rising operational costs and increasing service complexity.</p> <p>Australian Medical Association president Danielle McMullen said in some parts of the nation there would be a shift in the rates of no out-of-pocket consultations, while other parts would see no difference.</p> <p>"I do hope this will make a difference in rural and regional communities and in our areas of socio-economic disadvantage, where GP's have been really trying as hard as they can to keep those costs down," she said.</p> <p>Mr Albanese said every GP practice would be offered a new incentive payment to bulk bill.</p> <p>This would provide about 4800 practices across Australia with the security they needed to bulk-bill every visit, he said.</p> <p>A GP training program, which would start next year, would be the biggest in Australian history and deliver another 2000 new GPs annually.</p> <p>Under the health care commitment, 400 new scholarships for nurses and midwives would be created.</p> <p>Health Minister Mark Butler said the modelling done on the policy showed there would be 20 million additional free visits to the doctor.</p> </body>