New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews are calling on the Albanese government to ensure greater access to free GPs, and fix Medicare rebates to keep up with the rising cost of patient care.
They're also calling for an improvement to doctors' pay to help keep practices open and affordable for vulnerable patients who cannot afford the burden of extra costs.
Premier Dominic Perrottet says these reforms would alleviate the strain on the hospital system.
"We currently have a system from a federal and state level that's evolved over time working against each other not alongside each other. We have a system where many people can't get into a GP and have category 4 or category 5 health issues and present at a public health emergency department and end up waiting for hours. We have a real opportunity now coming out of a one in 100 year pandemic to reform the health system."
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler says he echoes the Premiers' calls to strengthen Medicare.
But he said making Medicare reform a priority discussion at national cabinet was the decision of the Prime Minister, state premiers and chief ministers.
He says the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce report will be released in coming weeks and places emphasis on the importance of alleviating the pressure being placed on hospitals.
"We said at the election that there was no higher priority for Labor in the health portfolio than strengthening Medicare and rebuilding General Practice in particular, because the constant advice we've received across the country is that after 9 years of cuts and neglect to Medicare, it's never been harder to see a doctor and it's never been more expensive, with bulk billing rates in decline and with gap fees constantly going up than it is right now."
General Practice should be the first point of call for patients as it reduces overall pressure on the health system.
