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Budget Priorities

Enhancing our Health System

This Budget provides more than $900 million over four years to health initiatives, building on substantial increases in health spending announced in recent budgets.	additional funding to improve the health of Australians
Medicare is the centrepiece of the health system, and the Government is committed to maintaining and improving Medicare for the benefit of all Australians.	maintaining and improving Medicare
In this Budget, patient rebates for general practitioner (GPs) services will be increased.
In addition, the Budget provides $43 million over four years for the development of up to 32 new sites to improve after-hours medical care.
The Government is also directing funding towards high priority areas, including:	targeted programmes for mental health, asthma, diabetes, and cervical cancer screening
improving the quality of care provided by GPs to people with a mental illness
additional funding to enable GPs to proactively manage asthma with a three stage consultations programme
the establishment of an Integrated National Diabetes Programme to improve the diagnosis and management of diabetes
encouraging more women to be screened for cervical cancer.
The Government has also provided $115 million over four years to set up an Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation.	the establishment of an Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation

Additional Commonwealth Health Spending

Note: Totals may not add due to rounding.