Medicare report encouraging but significantly more investment needed to save general practice

Australian Medical Association President Professor Steve Robson said the report included a welcome focus on proposals identified in the AMA’s Modernise Medicare campaign including improving funding for the Workforce Incentive Program, support for after-hours GP services and the introduction of voluntary patient enrolment to strengthen the relationship between a patient and their GP.

“This is a timely acknowledgement of the key role of general practitioners and moves us towards the medical home model that will better support patients with more coordinated care — delivering a more sustainable health system in the long term,” Professor Robson said.

“The report is high level vision document with little detail, and potentially sets primary care on a pathway to long term reform. However, patients can’t wait that long and need more immediate support.

"While the report and last year’s $750 million investment are welcome, we know that patients are increasingly struggling to access care and facing growing out of pocket costs.

“While this is due to the failure of successive governments to deliver the support general practice has been crying out for, the reality is that it is playing out on the current government’s watch, and the government needs to take urgent action to turn this trend around.

“We need to see a health budget delivered in May, with the kind of funding that will make a real difference to the system and the health of all Australians.

“The kind of issues we are seeing across the system, including in primary care aren’t going to be fixed with this investment. We must see a far greater investment that will address current problems and establish a sound platform for long term reform to ensure Australians can access affordable care when they need it.”

Professor Robson said immediate action could be taken to index Medicare appropriately.

“This is a problem created by successive governments and it can’t be ignored anymore. Additional funding to appropriately index the Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) must be a priority, and we need to rebalance the MBS consultation items so patients can spend the time they need with their GP.”

Professor Robson said while more action is needed urgently, the report’s focus on strengthening the relationship between patients and their GP was encouraging.

“As our population ages and the number of patients with chronic conditions increases, we need to see
well-coordinated models of care where GPs work with other health professionals to deliver care.

“A patient should be able to enrol with their GP of choice. A medical home model, where patients can choose to enrol with the GP, will also provide data that demonstrates the importance of an ongoing GP-patient relationship.”