Health Budget

Budget Delivers Prevention, Safety and Quality for a Healthier Australia

The 2003-2004 Budget brings a new focus on preventive health measures for Medicare, enhances safety and quality for medicines and the blood supply and provides more support for medical services in rural Australia.

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13 May 2003

Budget Delivers Prevention, Safety and Quality for a Healthier Australia

The 2003-2004 Budget brings a new focus on preventive health measures for Medicare, enhances safety and quality for medicines and the blood supply and provides more support for medical services in rural Australia.

The Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Kay Patterson, said the Budget measures were directed at strengthening Medicare and ensuring that prevention becomes a fundamental component of a more effective and sustainable health care system.

The Federal Government would place more emphasis on further integrating prevention, health promotion and disease prevention within the health system. Greater emphasis on prevention will strengthen the pillars of Medicare - the Medicare Benefits Scheme, which provides universal access for all Australians to a rebate for GP and specialist services; free access to public hospitals; and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which provides Australians with access to subsidised medicines.

"This Budget further strengthens Medicare by taking new steps towards making prevention, health promotion and disease prevention an integrated part of the health system - making prevention a fundamental pillar of Medicare," Senator Patterson said.

"Traditionally the health system has been geared to treating illness instead of promoting prevention. However, a considerable amount of disease is known to be preventable and it is time to focus the system more on keeping people healthy.

"This Budget contains a range of measures to do this and to improve community involvement in healthy living."

A Focus on Prevention

"By putting a strong emphasis on prevention, the Budget is investing in a healthier future for all Australians," Senator Patterson said.

"Investing in disease prevention and management will help Australians stay healthy and active for longer and improve our quality of life. When we help Australians stay healthy and active longer, everybody wins

"In Australia, chronic diseases are responsible for up to 80 per cent of the total burden of disease, and many are preventable.

"The Government has allocated $16.4 million over four years to establish a system of multi-disciplinary teams, led by GPs and involving health professionals and consumers, to find better ways to care for patients at high risk of, or living with, chronic disease.

"General Practitioners are often the first port of call for people seeking information about their health and are ideally placed to offer advice and assist people in achieving a healthy balance in their lifestyles.

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"The Government will provide $4.3 million over three years to help GPs promote healthy living and to build a national approach to 9Lifestyle Prescriptions' which GPs can use to encourage healthy lifestyles such as not smoking, drinking in moderation, eating well, and being active.

"The funding will also improve the quality of patient educational materials which can be used by GPs and other health professionals.

"Australia's National Breast Cancer Centre will receive continued funding of $8.4 million over four years to improve outcomes for women with or at risk of breast cancer, and $4 million over four years will be spent providing better care for rural and remote women living with breast cancer.

"This focus on prevention as a fundamental pillar of the Medicare system will also see the Federal Government spend $15.9 million over four years to reduce the transmission of hepatitis C and improve the care and support available to people living with the condition.

"Hepatitis C is now Australia's most commonly diagnosed notifiable disease and the Government's Hepatitis C Education and Prevention measure will support prevention projects for people in high-risk groups as well as challenging the discrimination faced by Australians living with the disease.

"As part of its preventative focus, the Coalition Government remains committed to tackling the problems created by illicit drugs. Today's Budget announcement brings the Government's total commitment to the National Illicit Drug Strategy "Tough on Drugs" to more than $1 billion.

"The Government has allocated $215.9 million over four years to the Council of Australian Government's Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative to continue to provide greater access to information, education and treatment services for minor drug offenders.

"Funding of $17.5 million over three years will continue to address community concerns about the risk of injury from needles and syringes discarded in public places through the introduction of retractable needle and syringe technology into Needle and Syringe Programs.

"Recognising the disadvantages faced by many rural and regional communities, the Coalition Government will also provide $4 million over four years to investigate ways of improving their access to specialist skills and broader drug treatment networks".

This is just a small portion of the measures that are being developed; a full list can be found in the Budget information kit.

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A Safe and Effective Health Care System for All Australians

"A safe and effective health system is a key Government priority, and a range of measures in the 2003-2004 Federal Budget will aim to make Australians safer and more secure," Senator Patterson said.

"To ensure Australia's vital blood supply is safe and secure, a new National Blood Authority will be established on 1 July 2003 to coordinate supply and demand, provide enhanced accountability and improve monitoring mechanisms.

"Coordinating these activities between the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments will deliver savings of $21.8 million over four years.

"The Government will also provide $8.1 million over two years to establish a new Trans-Tasman regulator responsible for setting standards for safe and high quality medicines and medical devices in Australia and New Zealand.

"The Trans-Tasman Therapeutic Products Agency will replace Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration on July 1, 2005. This collaboration between our two countries will deliver stronger protection for consumers on both sides of the Tasman.

"The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) will be provided with

$6.6 million over two years to introduce measures to support new laws passed last year to ban cloning and regulate research involving excess human embryos.

"The NHMRC will establish a licensing committee and develop a strong monitoring and inspection capacity.

"The Coalition Government will also strengthen the capacity of the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator by providing $16.5 million over two years to fund regulatory activities.

"The Government is committed to cost recovery in the regulation of gene technology. However, with very little commercial product or profit currently being realised, to impose full cost recovery on the sector now would put important research at risk.

"To ensure the continued delivery of important programs to the community and health care professionals, the Government will provide $40 million in 2003-04 to the Health Insurance Commission (HIC).

"And new Medicare agreements between the Government and the diagnostic imaging profession will promote better access to quality diagnostic imaging technologies including Magnetic Resonance Imaging, which has significantly advanced diagnosis of hard to identify conditions such as Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.

"New money in the Health portfolio announced in 2001 will begin to flow, with an additional $19.7 million each year for the Primary Health Care Access Program, beginning in 2003-04.

"This funding aims to improve the health care system for Indigenous communities as well as improve the coordination of care by hospitals, other mainstream services and general practitioners."

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Supporting Rural Australia

"Since coming to office in 1996, the Howard Government has spent about $2 billion on targeted rural health and aged care to boost access to doctors, specialists and nurses in rural and remote areas," Senator Patterson said.

"The Government has put in place a comprehensive strategy to increase the provision of GP services for people in country areas. In the 2000-01 Budget we allocated $562 million over four years for the Regional Health Strategy which includes support for medical students and incentives to attract young doctors to rural general practice.

"Figures show that our efforts are starting to show a return for Australians living in rural areas. Although there is a need for more doctors in rural areas, over the past five years there has been an 11.4% increase in the GP labour supply in rural Australia.

"One of the keys to our rural strategy is to keep more doctors nurses and other health workers in rural areas by providing funding, training and support.

"Some rural and remote communities face difficulty in retaining the services of a general practitioner for various reasons including geographic, social and professional isolation," Senator Patterson said.

"The Howard Government recognises these unique challenges and is continuing to provide $47.3 million over four years to continue the effective Rural Retention Program of incentive payments, started in 1999.

"Ten University Departments of Rural Health and ten Rural Clinical schools have been established in rural locations. Students in rural areas now have the opportunity to study to be a rural health professional closer to their homes.

"Funding for regional medical schools will continue, with the Government providing $11.2 million over four years to continue the work of the Greater Murray Clinical School at Wagga Wagga.

"The Government has also reaffirmed its commitment to providing primary health care services to rural and regional communities through ongoing funding to the Regional Health Services Program.

"Over the next four years, $46.2 million will be provided to maintain funding for Regional Health Services providing primary health care for almost 100 small rural communities.

"Continuing its efforts to increase the number of doctors in rural and remote areas, the Federal Government has committed $4.8 million over four years to encourage young people from rural areas to study medicine.

"The Rural Australia Medical Undergraduate Scholarship (RAMUS) scheme provides eligible rural students with up to $10,000 a year until graduation to help them meet accommodation, living and travel costs incurred while studying medicine," Senator Patterson said.

"A review in 2001 found the scheme was of significant benefit in helping rural medical students pursue their studies.

"Since 1996, there has been a remarkable uptake in rural scholarship schemes. By the end of 2002-2003 there will be nearly 2400 scholarships across a range of health disciplines including medicine, nursing and pharmacy.

"The Federal Government will also continue its commitment to rural and regional women by allocating $8.9 million over four years to provide access to female general practitioners through the Rural Women's GP Service.

"Since its inception, the service has provided over 19,000 consultations in 104 rural and remote locations.

"This Budget also demonstrates the Government's ongoing commitment to the rural medical workforce, with $10.3 million over four years allocated to increase the medical indemnity insurance subsidies available to obstetricians in rural and remote areas. This initiative recognises that regional and rural obstetricians have high insurance costs relative to their potential income."

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Connecting Australians Through Technology

"The Australian Government will spend an additional $5 million over the next two years to complete the development of the national electronic health information network, HealthConnect," Senator Patterson said.

"Building on the research and evaluation work funded in the 2001-2002 Federal Budget, this next phase of development will see further trials of HealthConnect across Australia and integration with other existing and planned Commonwealth, State and Territory health initiatives.

"Initiatives such as HealthConnect can help overcome the difficulties posed by paper-based health records and ultimately improve the safety and quality of health care.

"Technology can also make the health system more convenient.

"Claiming the Medicare rebate will remain easier for rural communities, with the provision of $20.1 million in continuing funding for the Medicare Easyclaim program in this year's Budget.

"Medicare Easyclaim booths allow customers to lodge their Medicare claims quickly and easily at some 550 locations around rural and remote Australia.

"The Government is also committed to providing older Australians, people with disabilities and those who care for them with timely information about the range of community and other support services available to them.

"To this end, we have committed an additional $65 million over the next four years in the 2003-2004 Federal Budget to continue funding for the 65 Commonwealth Carelink Centres around the country that are linking Australians to the care they need."

Contact Randal Markey, Media Adviser, Senator Patterson's office, 02 6277 7220.