Cost of Health Care

Senator GRIFF (South Australia) (14:29): My question is to Senator Colbeck, the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Aged Care, and it relates to the cost of health care in Australia. Minister, when the Medical Costs Finder website was launched two years ago, it was found that, for some procedures, patients in some states were paying out-of-pocket costs which were up to 40 times more than those paid by patients in other states. Fee transparency was supposed to alleviate this problem. Can you tell me whether the Medical Costs Finder website has helped a single patient by reducing their out-of-pocket costs?

Senator COLBECK (Tasmania—Minister for Sport and Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) (14:30): I thank Senator Griff for the question and for some notice of the general topic of the question. The government continues to invest in Australia's world-leading health system to ensure that Australians have access to high-quality health services at reasonable cost. The current situation with respect to bulk billing, for example, sees the bulk-billing rate at a record high of 83.5 per cent, which is 6½ per cent higher than when we came to government in 2013. GP bulk-billing records remained at record highs over the 2021 calendar year. Over that calendar year, the bulk-billing rate was 88.7 per cent—6.9 per cent higher than in 2012.

Senator Griff is correct: the purpose of the Medical Costs Finder website is to provide some visibility and transparency to support Australians in understanding what their medical costs might be so that they can make appropriate decisions with respect to where they might access those costs. I don't have with me any specific data in relation to the outcomes of those elements from the initial build—noting that the Medical Costs Finder website is still in its initial stages, as it's being developed, and that there are further stages to be considered. I understand that Minister Hunt has indicated a willingness to work with you, as we have done on previous sites that have provided visibility, to continue to improve the information that's to be made available to Australians across the board. But what we continue to do is to invest into Australia's world-leading health system, and whether that's into the MBS system for— (Time expired)

Senator GRIFF : Minister, you haven't actually answered my question. I would have thought that you would have been able to say that at least a single patient might have benefited in some way. Can you tell me whether there has actually been a reduction in how much individuals spend overall on health care over this term of government?

Senator COLBECK : I actually don't have any data on individual spends, but I do have information, which I was just going through, about the amount of funding that the government continues to put into Australia's world-leading health system to support Australians to access their care at a reasonable cost. If you look at, for example, Australian government funding to public hospitals, that's grown from $13.3 billion in 2012-13 to $25.5 billion in 2021, or by 90 per cent over that period of time.

The PRESIDENT: Minister, resume your seat. Senator Griff, on a point of order?

Senator Griff: It's on relevance. My question was not how much government spends on health care but how much individuals spend on health care and whether, as a result of this particular site, there has been a reduction in how much they spend.

The PRESIDENT: The minister did respond to that question. However, I will remind the minister that, when a question is narrowly framed, it is important to remain within the bounds of the question. Minister, you have the call, if you have anything you wish to add, for 20 seconds.

Senator COLBECK: I did specifically address that point, and I indicated that I didn't have any specific data on that with me. But what I did do was indicate the continued expansion of funding into the health system to Australians to ensure that they can access a high-quality health system. (Time expired)

Senator GRIFF : Minister, Australia has been reported as having the third-highest reliance in the world on individual death-care contributions. It's massive. If re-elected, what will the government do to lower the cost for individual Australians? This is not government cost but the actual cost to patients, to the public.

Senator COLBECK : I don't accept the premise of the question, because government spending on health actually does contribute to the cost that would otherwise be on Australians with regard to the health system. That's why we continue to invest in world-leading drugs: to make sure that Australians can access them at cheaper prices. That's why we do that. We continue to list drugs, taking older ones off and putting new ones on, so Australians have access to the best possible drugs at a reduced price so that they don't have to pay so much for their health. That's why we continue to invest so heavily in the public health system. If they can't have access to private health services, they can access it publicly through the public health system. That's why we continue to invest. That's why the Australian government's investment in the public health system is so important for them. It does contribute to lowering costs for Australians in accessing Australia's world's best health system.