Review of natural therapies for private health insurance

The Liberal National Government will commission an updated review of certain natural therapies including a five year update to its 2014-15 review of natural therapies.   The review will be led by the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy and be supported by an advisory panel of experts including Associate Professor of Public Health…

Record GP bulk billing rates

GP bulk billing rates under Medicare rose to 86 per cent in the six months from July to December 2018, a record high for this period.   This is up 0.2 percentage points on the same period in 2017 and means more Australians are visiting their doctor without having to pay a cent.   It…

Mental Health Commission appointments strengthen suicide prevention plan

Three new members have been appointed to the National Mental Health Commission’s Advisory Board to further strengthen the Government’s focus on youth mental health and suicide prevention.   The new Commissioners are Mr Alan Woodward, Ms Niharika Hiremath, and Dr Elizabeth-Ann Schroeder.   The National Mental Health Commission provides advice to Government on ways to…

$6.8 million to improve understanding of pain

The Liberal National Government will commit funding of up to $6.8 million to improve understanding and management of pain by consumers and health professionals. $2.5 million funding will be provided over four years from July 2019 for three projects: Up to $1 million to Painaustralia to support consumer awareness and education for people affected by…

A further $4 million for heart disease and stroke

The Liberal National Government will invest a further $4 million to tackle heart disease and stroke on top of recently announced measures to address these deadly conditions.   In 2017 alone, more than 100,000 Australians experienced a heart attack or stroke and cardiovascular disease was the underlying cause of 43,500 deaths in Australia.   Stroke…

RECORD INVESTMENT ADVANCES LONG TERM NATIONAL HEALTH PLAN

The Liberal National Government is investing a record $104 billion in 2019–20, up from $75 billion in 2012–13, as part of a comprehensive, patient-focused investment of $435 billion over the next four years. It guarantees Medicare, makes a range of life-saving medicines and services more accessible and affordable, reduces out-of-pocket costs, strengthens primary care and mental health…

$70 million for residential eating disorders treatment centres across Australia

The Liberal National Government is providing $70.2 million to establish six residential eating disorders centres and provide national coordination for eating disorders treatment.   There are around 1 million Australians living with an eating disorder.   Eating disorders are extremely complex illnesses, and have one of the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric illness –…

Breast cancer and rare skin cancer medicines on the PBS

The Liberal National Government is improving the lives of patients with breast cancer and a rare skin cancer by subsidising innovative medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), saving patients up to $150,000 a year.   In this year’s Budget our Government will invest $81.5 million to list the medicine Bavencio® (avelumab) on the PBS…