Latest news with #MedicareUrgentCareClinics
Perth Now
21-05-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
Medicare clinics clock up key statistic
The Albanese government is hailing a milestone for its Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, which played a key role in Labor's election campaign. More than 1.5 million Australians have turned to one of the clinics for treatment as of May 16, saving the health system an estimated $254m in avoided hospital visits. Health Minister Mark Butler said the clinics had become a 'vital part' of the nation's health system in just two years. 'They're starting to take the pressure off hospitals and patients, delivering fully bulk billed care quickly and with no appointment needed,' he said. 'By July next year, another 50 Urgent Care Clinics will open their doors to patients, and 4 in 5 Australians will live within a 20-minute drive of a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic.' . Health Minister Mark Butler (right) says the Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are taking pressure of hospitals. Jason Edwards / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia The clinics aim to provide bulk-billed care to Australians in need of treatment for urgent but not life-threatening conditions seven days a week for extended business hours. Patients with a Medicare card are able to walk in, no appointment needed, and be seen by a GP or nurse. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese often whipped out his own Medicare card on the campaign trail to push the clinics and the government's ongoing plan for them, which Labor identified as a key reason for the government's win. Anthony Albanese made the Medicare Urgent Care Clinics a key part of his successful election campaign. Jason Edwards / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia According to an interim report, the median waiting time at Medicare UCCs was 30 minutes – half as long as a patient would wait in an emergency department – and are almost three times more likely to be seen within the first 60 minutes. The most common reasons for attending were for respiratory, musculoskeletal and skin conditions. In 2023, the first Urgent Care Clinic opened in Logan, Queensland to kickstart Labor's promise to ease pressure on hospitals and emergency departments. The government at the time pledged $771.6m over five years to open and operate the UCC network. A second Interim Evaluation Report is due later in the year.
News.com.au
26-04-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
‘Life isn't 9 to 5': Albo's huge Medicare promise
Anthony Albanese is set to announce 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 will pledge 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 it will be 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 'Whether your family needs urgent or ongoing health care, under Labor, Medicare will be there for all Australians, in every community.' 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.' PM makes veiled dig at Donald Trump 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 will say in speech on Medicare to be delivered 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. 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.
Sky News AU
26-04-2025
- Health
- Sky News AU
Federal Election 2025: Labor throws $204 million at expanding HealthDirect Service and setting up '1800-Medicare' hotline
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has doubled down on health as his key selling point ahead of the federal election, splashing $204.5 million to create a national 1800-Medicare hotline. The new hotline will expand the existing state tele-health services into a national platform under 1800-Medicare. It would provide 24/7 health advice and also an after-hours GP service covered by Medicare starting from 2026, according to Labor. 'Life isn't 9 to 5. With 1800 MEDICARE, neither is health care,'' Mr Albanese told the media. 'Whether your family needs urgent or ongoing health care, under Labor, Medicare will be there for all Australians, in every community.' The move builds on Labor's wider health pitch, which includes the $644 million expansion of Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs). The Albanese government has also announced an additional $8.5 billion investment—matched by the Coalition—to deliver an additional 18 million bulk billed GP visits each year. However, more than two thirds of doctors told the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners they were "unlikely to change their billing practices" despite the investment. Meanwhile, the urgent care clinic rollout has faced mounting criticism after the government failed to deliver on its promise that all clinics would be open for extended hours. Sky News found that barely half of all of the existing 87 clinics achieved the promise of 8am-10pm opening hours. An interim evaluation by the Department of Health also revealed that each visit to a Medicare UCC costs taxpayers an average of $246.50. This amounts to more than five times the $42 subsidy for a regular GP consultation. Health Minister Mark Butler has defended the UCC model, arguing it has provided urgent relief to over 1.3 million Australians. Mr Albanese has trumpeted the rollout of 87 clinics — exceeding the original promise of 50 — although questions remain over the consistency of operating hours and staffing. The new 1800-Medicare announcement comes as the latest Newspoll data published by The Australian shows Labor strengthening its electoral position. Healthcare has remained a relative strength for Labor, with 42 per cent of voters saying they trust Mr Albanese over Opposition Leader Peter Dutton at 22 per cent to deliver on healthcare. Mr Dutton was judged better placed to defend the nation and manage the economy but struggles to convince voters of his plans on cost-of-living relief, housing and tax. As Labor enters the final Sunday of the campaign, it is leaning heavily into its perceived advantage on health. The Coalition, meanwhile, will spend the final days focusing squarely on the cost of living, before the election on May 3.
SBS Australia
26-04-2025
- Health
- SBS Australia
Dial M for Medicare: Labor's $200 million telehealth salvo as Coalition plans 28-seat dash
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left), Opposition leader Peter Dutton (right) and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke (second left) after the third leaders' debate of the 2025 federal election campaign on 22 April 2025. Credit: AAP Image / James Brickwood A re-elected Labor government would launch a 24 hour '1800MEDICARE' service, allowing patients to access free after-hours general practice telehealth consultations, as the Coalition signals its aim to visit 28 seats during a frantic final week of campaigning. At the government's final campaign rally ahead of the 3 May poll, the prime minister will pledge $204.5 million over four years, to revamp the existing Healthdirect service, operated in conjunction with the states and territories. Meanwhile, the Opposition leader will begin the final week in Melbourne, flagging an intention to showcase Coalition momentum by visiting 28 key seats — around four a day — before polls close on Saturday. Labor's promised telehealth overhaul, which it says would be in place by 1 January 2026, would ensure patients requiring urgent care between 6pm and 8am on weeknights or during weekends had access to a bulk-billed consultation with an after-hours GP via phone or video. Registered nurses would staff the line 24 hours a day on weekdays and weekends to provide immediate advice and refer patients to local GPs, hospitals or Medicare Urgent Care Clinics. The '1800Medicare' GP would have capacity to advise treatment of short-term illness injury or illness, and provide emergency prescriptions, with every consultation recorded under the MyHealth Record scheme. Healthdirect currently operates a 24-hour advice line, but does not offer integrated 24/7 telehealth GP consultations across all jurisdictions. "At this election Australia faces a clear choice: a stronger Medicare with more bulk billing and more free urgent care under Labor, or more cuts to Medicare under [Opposition leader] Peter Dutton's Liberals," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. Dutton has said at various points throughout the campaign that Labor's claims that he would cut Medicare if elected are a baseless scare campaign. Labor expects the re-badged program to reduce pressure on public hospitals across the country, particularly Queensland and Tasmania, where not all existing healthdirect services are uniformly available. "Around 250,000 Australians will avoid an unnecessary trip to a hospital emergency department, because of the free urgent GP care provided by 1800MEDICARE," Health Minister Mark Butler said. The policy capitalises on the booming popularity of telehealth consultations after the pandemics, and will also combat an increase in online-only GP services, which are not integrated with the Medicare system. According to the Medicare Benefits Schedule Review Advisory Committee, such services, which offer quick access to prescriptions and medical certifcates, "do not support integrated, safe and high-quality care". On Saturday, Butler appeared in Launceston with Albanese, where the government in February unveiled an $8.5 billion funding injection to lift Medicare bulk billing rates and increase healthcare staff. At the time, The Coalition was quick to match the promise "dollar for dollar" — and will face pressure to match this latest announcement. Needing to win 21 seats to form a majority government, Dutton will begin the final week of vote-winning in Melbourne tomorrow, before embarking on a cross country campaign to harness lingering cost of living anger. In the coming days, Dutton is expected to campaign in a number of seats held by Climate Independents for the first time since the writs were issued. Kooyong, Goldestein and Mackellar are among the seats the Opposition Leader is yet to visit, having made a brief appearance in teal-held Curtin in the campaign's second week. Gilmore, Aston and Gorton and Bennelong are among the Labor seats Dutton is looking to flip, with liberal figures dismissive of published polling suggesting their primary vote has experienced a steady decline over recent weeks. The Prime Minister was also urging Labor faithful not to be complacent, telling party volunteers in Bass to not "leave anything in the tank" in the run-up to 3 May. Visit the to access articles, podcasts and videos from SBS News, NITV and our teams covering more than 60 languages.
Sky News AU
23-04-2025
- Health
- Sky News AU
Federal Election 2025: Albanese government's Medicare Urgent Care Clinics forced to close when doctors unavailable
The Albanese government's rollout of Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) has continued to face challenges, with some forced out of operation due to the unavailability of doctors. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has established 87 UCCs and promised another 50 at a cost of more than $1 billion. In the 2022 budget, the government promised $235 million for UCCs, then another $359 million in 2023-24 before splashing $658 million in 2025 to deliver 137 clinics in total. Meanwhile, Health Minister Mark Butler has assured voters the $1 billion cost ensures 'all' clinics are staffed by a GP, except in the ACT and the NT. However, a Sky News investigation has revealed multiple clinics have had to temporarily shut their doors due to unavailability of qualified doctors, contradicting Mr Butler's assurances. Sky News contacted several urgent care clinics across the country, some of which admitted that they had been forced to close due to a lack of available GPs. Off-the-record admissions from clinic staff confirmed temporary closures have occurred, with one clinic closing its doors the same day Sky News made contact, citing 'unforeseen circumstances'. While none of the clinics reported having operated without a doctor present, those in the ACT and NT—where nurse-led models are permitted—were not included in the investigation. It comes as an independent report into UCCs found there were 'challenges with the requirement to roster a vocationally registered GP on all shifts'. These revelations raise serious questions about the Albanese government's ability to meet its promise, particularly in regional and remote areas where GP shortages are most acute. In Canberra, for example, there are 23 per cent fewer GPs per person than Sydney, leading to nurse-led walk-in clinics as a stopgap solution, even before the UCC rollout. The credibility gap widened further this week as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was pressed on why so many clinics have failed to meet their promised operating hours. An audit revealed that barely half of the clinics have met the full 8am-10pm opening hours promised by Mr Albanese during the 2022 election campaign. When asked by Sky News when all clinics would operate as promised, Mr Albanese sidestepped the question. 'What is occurring is that those urgent care clinics are delivering help for some 1.3 million Australians... We promised 50, if you speak about commitments, we delivered 87,' he said. However, the assertion that 87 clinics have been opened does not fully address the concern that many are not operating at the promised hours. Shadow health minister Anne Ruston has since accused the government of being disingenuous about the functionality of the UCCs. 'I've been critical about... the implementation of the urgent care clinics,' Ms Ruston said at the National Press Club health debate on Wednesday. 'Particularly because the promise to Australians was that these clinics would be open from 8am in the morning to 10pm in the evening and would be staffed by GPs. 'The (health) minister didn't actually say whether there were GPs in these clinics from 8am… to 10pm every day. 'I think you'll find if you look at many of the urgent care clinics around the country, that is not the case.' None of the clinics that Sky News contacted admitted to operating without a qualified doctor present. Former Howard government health adviser and principal of Cormorant Policy Advice, Terry Barnes, has warned the clinics have become about political optics rather than reform. 'This rollout of urgent care clinics isn't really about improving access to healthcare in a cost-effective way—it's about bulk-billing ideology,' Mr Barnes told Sky News. 'Instead of backing existing general practices and addressing systemic issues in primary care, they're throwing money at a competing model that may be electorally popular. 'But (it) isn't necessarily sustainable or efficient, let alone delivering the promised level of services in terms of their availability.' The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has also raised concerns about the cost-effectiveness of UCCs. The recent interim evaluation report by the Department of Health found each presentation at a Medicare UCC cost taxpayers $246.50. This amounts to more than five times what it would cost the government to cover the cost of a regular GP visit, at $42 to the taxpayer. Dr Michael Wright, President of the RACGP, highlighted the fact that UCCs have become an 'expensive model of care' that could be better delivered through general practices. 'Your average urgent care clinic visit, seeing a GP who you may not even know, is more than five times as expensive as a consult with your regular GP,' he said recently. He further criticised the workforce pressures that are created by UCCs competing with the regular GP workforce. 'We value the work that our members are doing in urgent care clinics and will continue to support them,' he said. 'Our concerns relate to the cost of these clinics, fragmented patient care and how they will be staffed. 'We're concerned about the impact of urgent care clinics on the viability and workforce needs of general practice. 'There is a risk these clinics are creating competition for an already stretched GP workforce.' The Albanese government has made a $644 million commitment to deliver an additional 50 urgent care clinics. The Coalition has not matched the pledge, but committed to retaining all 87 existing clinics and rolling out several more.
