‘Life isn’t 9 to 5’: Albo’s huge Medicare promise
Anthony Albanese has announced a new free, nationwide 24/7 health advice line as his last big political gamble of the election.
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Anthony Albanese has announced a new free, nationwide 24/7 health advice line and after hours GP telehealth service called 1800 MEDICARE as his last big political gamble of the election.
As the Liberal leader Peter Dutton prepares to launch a nationwide blitz of marginal seats in the final week of the campaign, Labor is returning to the issue that has seen the Prime Minister’s stocks rise in the polls.
Betting his prime ministership on Medicare remaining the key to his political resurrection, the Prime Minister pledged that the new service will allow Australians to order prescriptions and health care over the phone.
Australians will be able to call any time to get expert health advice from a registered nurse and if your problem can’t wait for your regular GP, you will be connected to a free GP telehealth consultation.
1800 MEDICARE will be a free, nationwide 24/7 health advice line and after hours GP telehealth service and was launched by the Prime Minister at a major Medicare rally on Sunday.
“Life isn’t 9 to 5. With 1800 MEDICARE, neither is health care,’’ Mr Albanese told news.com.au ahead of the announcement.
“Whether your family needs urgent or ongoing health care, under Labor, Medicare will be there for all Australians, in every community.”
How 1800 MEDICARE will work
Health Minister Mark Butler said the Medicare Urgent Care Clinics and 1800MEDICARE would ensure that free urgent care will be a 20-minute drive away for 4 in 5 Australians, and a phone call away for every Australian.
“When illness or injury strikes in your family, 1800MEDICARE will be there – a 24/7 health advice line and after hours GP telehealth service, backed by Medicare,’’ he said.
“Around 250,000 Australians will avoid an unnecessary trip to a hospital emergency department, because of the free urgent GP care provided by 1800MEDICARE.”
Medicare – which didn’t just give us a better health system or import someone else’s, it invented a truly Australian one.”
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Without mentioning him by name, the Prime Minister also reiterated that Labor would never put Australia’s PBS on the bargaining table amid a global tariff war.
“The fact that your Medicare card is green and gold is no accident,’’ Mr Albanese said in his speech on Medicare on Sunday.
“Despite opposition from the Liberals, universal and affordable access to the medicines through the PBS was an idea that survived to become one of our country’s true pillars of strength.
“Let me be clear: The PBS is not for sale. Under Labor, it is not – and never will be – on the bargaining table.
“We’re strengthening healthcare by lowering the price of medicines on the PBS to just $25.
“The lowest it has been since 2004. A vote for Labor is a vote for Medicare.”
Labor plots a comeback
Anthony Albanese is on the verge of securing a political resurrection according to the latest Newspoll and retains a chance to be re-elected as Prime Minister with a surprise majority.
Just a few weeks ago it was thought the PM’s only chance was a minority government.
The government’s stocks began rising as the Prime Minister announced a major overhaul of Medicare in February.
Under the plan GP visits will also be offered to the vast majority of Australians in a dramatic $8 billion investment in Medicare that the Prime Minister hopes is big enough to save his job and save families hundreds of dollars a year.
Declaring the 2025 election a referendum on Medicare, Anthony Albanese will pledge on Sunday to deliver an additional 18 million free bulk billing GP visits.
The government will set an ambitious target of 9 out 10 GP visits being bulk billed – that means free for the patient – by 2030.
Peter Dutton’s marginal seat blitz
Meanwhile, Peter Dutton will launch an unprecedented final week blitz across Australia insisting he still has a fighting chance of an upset victory.
Liberal strategists insist that Mr Dutton is making inroads in outer suburban seats and could surprise on election night.
News.com.au can reveal that Mr Dutton will traverse the entirety of Australia visiting up to 28 key seats — the majority held by Labor — in a high-energy final push.
He’s promising rallies, interactions with real voters and a marathon week of campaigning.
Liberal strategists say that while the Coalition needs to gain 21 seats to secure a majority, this blitz underlines a simple message: this election is winnable, and Mr Dutton is fighting for every vote in every corner of the country.
He will kick off the final week of campaigning Melbourne for a rally with hundreds of Liberal supporters.
Some of the target seats include Hawke, Solomon, Aston, Gilmore, Moreton, Gorton, Lyons, Dunkley, Goldstein, Kooyong, Paterson, Dobell, Bennelong, Bullwinkel, Boothby, Mackellar.
Originally published as ‘Life isn’t 9 to 5’: Albo’s huge Medicare promise
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