The nation’s GPs want the federal government to invest more than $1 billion in Medicare to make longer doctor visits affordable and train 1500 new doctors as pressure grows on Labor and the Coalition to show how they will tackle soaring healthcare costs leading into an election.

The Royal Australian College of GPs will on Tuesday also announce other measures to improve women’s health, tackle mental illness and make GP visits cheaper for younger people as part of a package of 19 initiatives with a total funding requirement of more than $3 billion.