One week out from the federal election the Australian Labor Party have announced almost $1 billion in funding for general practice and Medicare if they form government.
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The bulk of the funding consists of $750 million over three years, which will deliver improved patient access to general practice, including after-hours care, greater patient affordability and decrease pressure on the state's hospitals.
The new "strengthening Medicare" fund will commit $750 million over the forward estimates, making $250 million a year available from 2023-24.
An additional $220 million will be allocated to Labor's "strengthening Medicare GP grants" program that will allow practices to upgrade IT systems - including support for telehealth consultations- train staff, purchase new equipment and upgrade ventilation and infection controls.
Under the program, grants of $25,000 will be available for smaller practices, while larger clinics will have access to grants of $50,000.
The funding commitment has been welcomed by the Australian Medical Association which said the pledge would allow investment in programs that would improve access to services for patients.
After criticising Labor's plan to develop 50 urgent care clinics - two of which would be located in Northern Tasmania - AMA President, Dr Omar Khorshid said Saturday's announcement of almost $1 billion was welcomed and put general practice on a pathway to a more sustainable future.
"The way healthcare is delivered in primary care is changing and funding arrangements need to be modernised to reflect this. Today's announcement by the ALP should allow general practice to start to do that," he said.
Labor's candidate for Bass Ross Hart said general practice was the cornerstone of Tasmania's health system, but people were finding it increasingly difficult to access a GP.
"Across Northern Tasmania, I hear the same thing - people keep telling me about how it's getting more and more difficult to see a doctor," he said.
"We're approaching access to healthcare and dealing with a healthcare crisis in Northern Tasmania in a practical way for many different proposals which are all designed to reduce the cost and increase access to healthcare."
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While the Labor Party and AMA said the announcement would be welcomed by doctors working in general practice, Summerdale Medical Practice partner Dr Don Rose said when viewed on a national scale the commitment would not bring the changes needed.
"It's a drop in the bucket, I mean, as we've said thousands of times, the problem with general practice at the moment is the patient rebate - the rebate is less than half of the standard fee," he said.
Dr Rose said the Medicare rebate freeze, introduced by Labor in 2013, and then continued by the Liberals when they formed government in 2014, had brought general practice across Australia to its knees and needed to be redressed.
He said the only way to develop a sustainable future for the medical speciality would be to increase the patient rebate.
"The patient rebate is the key, if the patient rebate had kept pace with inflation the bulk-billing rate would be much higher and we could afford to bulk-bill those people that haven't got the capacity to pay it," he said.
The Royal College of General Practitioners has also said that significant investment and reform was required if the health sector was expected to manage the growing pressure on both acute and primary healthcare providers.
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