This appeared earlier today:
Anthony Albanese’s Medicare splurge is hollow without funding plan
23 February, 2025
Anthony Albanese isn’t even pretending he is interested in balancing the books if he regains government and this presents an opportunity for Peter Dutton to showcase his team’s fiscal credentials if he is brave enough to take on the Labor scare machine.
The Prime Minister’s $8.5 billion promise to make doctor appointments free for nearly all Australians is a political trap for the Opposition Leader, with Labor to claim that any equivocation from the Coalition is proof that Medicare is at risk with a change of government.
The policy just happens to be a slightly bigger spend than the amount the Australian Medical Association claims Dutton cut from Medicare when he was health minister in the Abbott government, showcasing Labor’s readiness to launch Mediscare 2.0 in a bid to keep the unpopular Albanese in the Lodge.
On the face of it, the expansion of bulk billing is a worthwhile cause for the Albanese government to pursue: more money for an under pressure healthcare system, restoring the efficacy of a great Labor reform and enabling more Australians to visit a doctor without adding to their cost-of-living pressures.
But its downfall is the pretence that you can spend an extra $2.4 billion a year from 2028-29 without finding a way to pay for it.
Labor has outlined no revenue measures or spending cuts to explain how it can fund the growth to commonwealth outlays, with the policy to add to the structural budget deficit that economists warn is a growing risk to Australia’s future prosperity.
And, just like the NDIS, it is demand driven, so any government estimates on cost should be treated cautiously.
Albanese’s inevitable claim that a majority of the $8.5bn was secretly funded in December’s mid-year economic update does not change its structural impact on the budget.
It follows a litany of major spending announcements since late last year that have been accompanied with zero explanation of how they will be funded: $16bn to wipe 20 per cent off student debts (conveniently classified as “off-budget” as if that means the debt doesn’t exist), a $7.2bn upgrade to the Bruce Highway, $2bn for green aluminium, $2bn for green steel, $1.7bn for hospitals and $428m to loosen the activity test for childcare.
Labor is also considering an extension of the $300 electricity rebate for households and small businesses past its June 30 expiry, with the policy costing $3.5bn for a single year in the last budget.
The only revenue measure Labor has confirmed it will take to the election is to increase taxes on superannuation balances worth $3m and above, which would raise a significant $2 billion-plus a year but not enough to come close to balance out the increase in spending.
But an election is a contest, and Dutton has not shown evidence to suggest a Coalition government would set Australia on the path to living within our means. The Liberal leader talks about fiscal prudence — including vague and sometimes contradictory comments about cutting the public service — but is yet to provide a credible economic pathway if there is a change of government.
While the $8.5bn spending splurge on Medicare may be too hard politically for the Coalition to oppose, it would build a lot of credibility if Dutton did what Albanese won’t and explained how he would pay for it.
But we probably shouldn’t be counting on that.
Here is the link:
This is sure a huge commitment on the part of the Labor party (8.5b extra on Medicare over 4 years) but it is fair to say the is what Labor sees as core business – so I guess there is some chance we will all eventually see the money.
The other point to make is that an extra $2 Billion or so in a planned Medicare budget of #112.7 Billion (2024-25 Budget) is little more than a ‘rounding error’!
Note this summary:
How much does Australia spend on healthcare annually?
Australia spent an estimated $252.5 billion on health goods and services in 2022–23 – an average of approximately $9,597 per person. In real terms (adjusted for inflation), health spending decreased by 0.3%, or $0.7 billion less than spending from 2021–22.20 Nov 2024
I suspect we will indeed see this expenditure – huge amount of money though it is!
David.
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