Greens unveil $54bn bid for free GP visits
Adam Bandt wants Labor backing for the Greens’ new healthcare policy, should the government find itself needing to make a power-sharing deal with the party after the election.
Adam Bandt will demand Labor fork out more than $50bn as part of a plan to allow all Australians to see a GP for free, should the government find itself needing to make a power-sharing agreement with the Greens after the election.
To be paid for by the Greens’ “Robin Hood” tax reforms that would target big business profits and raise more than $500bn over a decade, the new policy would see 1000 “free local healthcare clinics” set up across the country and a tripling in the bulk-billing incentive for all Medicare card holders.
The policy – to be announced in the Greens’ target seat of Perth in Western Australia on Thursday – follows data released this week revealing out-of-pocket costs for doctors’ visits have increased by more than 5 per cent compared with a year ago.
Australians are now paying an average of almost $45 for a trip to a GP, up from an average $42.55 in the previous 12 months, according to new Medicare data.
Mr Bandt said Labor was not doing enough to ensure Australians were able to afford healthcare. “In a wealthy country like ours, everyone should be able to get the healthcare they need, but more and more people are putting off health appointments because they can’t afford it,” he said.
“The Greens are fighting for outcomes for everyday people, and that means being able to see a GP, psychologist, dentist or nurse for free with your Medicare card.”
In light of the cost-of-living crisis and the rising price of seeing a doctor, the number of GP visits plummeted by more than two million in the past 12 months, the Medicare data revealed.
Costings from the Parliamentary Budget Office showed the Greens policy to set up 1000 free local healthcare clinics – or six clinics per federal electorate – would come to $3.7bn over the forwards, but noted the costing was “highly uncertain” given challenges such as workforce.
The tripling of the bulk-billing rate would cost about $5.8bn over the forwards, the PBO showed, while the Greens’ plan to fund a program that would ensure trainee GPs were paid the same as their hospital counterparts would cost $200m over four years.
The “GP for Free” policy follows the Greens announcing they would be campaigning to add dental to Medicare at a cost of $46bn over the forward estimates.
Several Labor MPs including Mike Freelander, Brian Mitchell and Helen Polley have backed the need for adding dental to Medicare, though they cautioned against doing so over as tight a timeframe as was being proposed by the Greens.
Greens health spokesman and WA senator Jordon Steele-John said his party had “a bold plan that will improve the health of our community, and bring down the cost of living”.
“It’s disgraceful that we’re in a cost-of-living crisis where people are choosing between going to the doctor, paying rent and putting food on the table,” he said.
“I’ve heard from many people here in Perth that the cost of going to the GP is too high. In the Perth CBD, the average out-of-pocket cost to see a doctor is $48.64 and rising.”
Mr Bandt said the plan would be funded by the Greens’ super tax reforms, which he claimed were critical given “one in three big corporations pays no tax”.
“The Greens will make big corporations pay their fair share of tax so you can see the GP for free,” he said.
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