Scott Morrison’s government has made a pitch for the votes of families and older Australians with new spending in aged care and a promise to make Medicare more affordable and services more accessible.
The centrepiece of the spending in aged care is an additional 10,000 home care packages to help older people remain at home rather than enter aged care facilities, taking the number of packages to 40,000.
The measure adds $282.4m to the “record funding” for aged care of $21.6bn.
The government says it has increased spending on services for older Australians by more than 50% since 2013-14, when it came to office, and is expected to use this as a strong theme in the federal election.
It has already announced a $320m general subsidy boost in the 2018-19 budget for residential aged care, which would create 13,500 new residential places.
For those approaching retirement, there are also sweeteners with changes to the superannuation rules that would allow people between the ages of 65 to 67 to continue to put in $100,000 of voluntary contributions to their retirement savings without having to pass a work test. This reflects the increasing retirement age. There are also more relaxed rules about contributing to a spouse’s retirement account.
The budget also includes a $448m boost to the $80bn health budget for a “primary care model”, which would help GPs manage patients with complex conditions.
The Australian Medical Association has been pushing for the federal government to come to the party on providing funds to help GPs work with hospitals to manage complex patients.
On Medicare, Labor has vowed it would fast-track the end of the freeze on Medicare rebates to July 2019 if it was elected. The cost is $213m.
The freeze, which was first introduced by Labor in 2013 as part of a budget savings plan, was extended twice by Coalition governments. It has seen the rebates for common GP services frozen and patient out-of-pocket expenses rise. The government has been progressively lifting the freeze since 2017.
While doctors have warned that the freeze makes it difficult for them to provide bulk-billed services, the government pointed out that bulk-billing was at the highest level ever.
The Coalition lifted the freeze on standard GP and other specialist consultations in 2018 and is due to lift the freeze on medical procedures in July this year. Rebates on targeted diagnostic services are due to be unfrozen in July 2020.
In reply to Labor’s pitch, the Coalition has announced it is putting $309m into improving access to diagnostic imaging. This includes MRI scans for patients with with breast cancer and increasing patient rebates of ultrasounds and X-rays from July 2020. More MRI licences will be granted to improve access to scans nationally.
It is also introducing a new Medicare item for heart health checks.
There is also new money for cancer treatments. Several new expensive drugs, such as Besponsa, which is used for acute leukaemia, will be included on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme at a cost of $331m. This means they will cost just $40.30 per prescription or $6.50 with a concession card, instead of close to $250,000.
The government had expanded its spending on mental health in previous budgets but this budget includes an extra $461m aimed at youth mental health. It includes $111m for Headspace to open 30 new services and $110m for early psychosis youth services.
The cost of addressing earlier failures of policy in the health and welfare sector is revealed in this year’s budget, with more than $527m allocated for the royal commission into violence and abuse and neglect of people with a disability.
The government has already funded a royal commission into aged care and has allocated funds for driving improvements in quality care.
With healthcare likely to be a major pitch from Labor, more announcements are expected during the campaign from both parties.
