President’s update

I know I promised you a week free of me, but I should have known that would never happen in election season. We've been busy with a flurry of activity this week as health increasingly takes centre stage in the federal campaign.  

On Monday, we launched the AMA's 2025 Federal Election Platform, calling for urgent action to Modernise Medicare and lift our public hospitals out of logjam. Our comprehensive plan includes a new seven-tier rebate structure to support patients spending more time with their GP, costing $4.5 billion over four years. This week we saw a significant amount of media about the budgeted $8.5bn investment into bulk billing in general practice — and the growing awareness in the media and the community that while this may help the viability of some practices, it won’t mean that all practices change their billing policies in November. We are encouraging all practices to review their individual circumstances, and for the public to talk to their GP/practice about what will (or won’t) change. And above all, we ‘re highlighting to both sides of politics that reform of the underlying structure of Medicare is still needed.  

We're also seeking commitments to end the hospital logjam through a new national health reform agreement, with an additional $12.5 billion from the federal government and $15.3 billion from states and territories over four years.  

We got a large amount of media interest in our Sugary Sweet campaign to introduce a tax on sugar sweetened beverages. This has been AMA policy for some years now and shows our dedication to ongoing advocacy for solid public health measures backed by evidence. 

In the private health space, we also had media engagement on our asks for a Private Health System Authority. We’ve seen the current government establish a Private Health CEO’s forum to progress reforms, and we will continue to push both sides of politics to take an active interest in protecting a sustainable private health sector which has patient choice and clinical autonomy at its core.  

We welcomed the Labor Party's commitment of $10 million to fund inclusive LGBTQIASB+ healthcare training, a significant step towards our 2023 position statement recommendations. Equipping healthcare professionals with appropriate skills to treat LGBTQIASB+ patients leads to better health outcomes for all. We would of course work on implementation post-election to make sure the training and other measures are meaningful and impactful. 

On the pathology front, we released our recently updated Pathology Position Statement highlighting the need for adequate funding of these essential services. Pathology is critical to modern healthcare, providing crucial information for screening, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring. Despite its importance, Medicare rebates for pathology testing remained stagnant for more than two decades, with only partial indexation introduced in 2024. We're particularly advocating for whoever forms the next government to delay changes to MBS rebates and criteria for Vitamin B12 and urine testing, and commit to another round of consultation, as these tests are fundamental to diagnosing and monitoring a wide range of conditions.  

On Thursday, we released our latest Ambulance Ramping Report Card as part of our Clear the Hospital Logjam campaign, revealing the alarming fact that ramping in many states is still double what it was five years ago. This is having devastating consequences, with reports of patients dying while waiting for an ambulance or in ambulances waiting for hospital admission. Our hospital and ambulance staff are doing their best, but they desperately need more resources, more beds, and a system that works. In addition to more public hospital funding, we're advocating for nationally consistent reporting of ambulance ramping to be included in the National Minimum Data Set required by the federal government.  

We've also raised concerns about dangerous health trends on social media, particularly the promotion of tanning pills and injections, which pose serious health risks to consumers.  

What a week it has been! This is just a snapshot but hopefully keeps you in the loop of how your AMA is supporting you and your patients this election.  

Wishing you all a Happy Easter and long-weekend. I’ve learned my lesson and make no promises not to bother you on another public holiday next Friday!