The Commonwealth Budget – Overview 2003-04

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A Fairer Medicare — better access, more affordable

The Government has allocated $917 million over five years to its A Fairer Medicare package to make Medicare more accessible and affordable, particularly for those who are concession cardholders, veterans or who require a high number of medical services. And the Government is continuing the fight against illicit drugs.

A Fairer Medicare

General Practitioners (GPs) who participate in the new GP Access Scheme will receive incentives to bulk bill concession cardholders. In areas with too few GPs, especially rural and regional Australia, GPs will receive higher incentives for their higher patient loads. To improve access for veterans, the Government will also make higher payments to Local Medical Officers in recognition of the complex treatments veterans require.

Health care will be made more affordable for people who require numerous Medicare services with

• a new safety net for concession cardholders. This will cover 80 per cent of all costs, above the Medicare rebate for out–of–hospital Medicare services, above a $500 threshold for a family in a single year
• a new private health insurance product, covered by the 30 per cent PHI Rebate, to cover gap costs for out–of–hospital Medicare services above a threshold of $1,000 in a single year.

Tough on drugs

The Government will provide funding of $316 million over four years to reduce the importation, distribution and use of illicit drugs on Australia's streets. The recent apprehension of the freighter MV Pong Su illustrates the success of this strategy. New measures include

• $4.3 million over four years to stop the importation of materials used for manufacturing illicit drugs
• $4.3 million over four years to enhance the national drug use monitoring database, an invaluable source of intelligence for police and policy makers on trends in drug use and drug–related crime
• $3.4 million to improve the analysis of financial information, which can help identify and reduce illicit drug trafficking and related activities.