Health Facts

The LNP’s record on health

The previous LNP Government:

Increased Medicare funding every year

Increased hospital funding by 86%

Delivered record bulk billing rates

Made 2,900 new or amended medicines listings

Doubled the number of Medicare subsidised mental health sessions

Delivered a world leading pandemic response

The facts on Medicare

The previous LNP Government:

• Medicare bulk billing was higher under the LNP.
• Across the LNP's time in Government, the average bulk billing rate was 86.15%. Under Labor it is 78.75%
• The GP bulk billing rate was 88.3 percent in the LNP's final year. Under Labor it has fallen to 77.3 percent (an 11 percent decline).¹
• In the LNP's last year, 167.2 million free GP services were delivered. This is 61 million more than the previous Labor Government.
• Under Labor, 40 million fewer free GP services are bulk-billed under Medicare.
• Under the LNP, funding into Medicare increased year-on-year from $18.6 billion under Labor in 2012–13 to more than $30 billion in 2021-22.

Medicare Bulk Billing Rate (GP Services)

Higher under LNP. Fallen 11% under Labor.

Free GP Services (Medicare Bulk-Billed)

Increased by 61 million under LNP. Decreased by 40 million under Labor.

The facts on Hospital Funding

• The LNP nearly doubled hospital funding, from $13.3 billion (in 2012-13) to $24.7 billion (in 2021-22).²
• This represents a hospital funding increase of 86% increase in 9 years.
• When Peter Dutton was Health Minister, funding increased by 16% in two years.

Hospital funding, Australian Govt ($ billions)

86% increase in 9 years

The facts on Mental Health

• The LNP Government doubled the number of Medicare subsidised mental health sessions Australians can access, from 10 to 20.
• Labor has cut Medicare-subsidised mental health support in half, back to 10 sessions. This leaves 372,000 Australians without the support they need.
• The LNP will restore 20 Medicare subsidised sessions permanently.
• As Health Minister in 2013, Peter Dutton expanded the youth mental health service, Headspace, to establish 10 new centres.

The facts on Medicines

• The LNP Government made over 2,900 new or amended medicines listings on the PBS. This helped people suffering from cancer, heart disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis chronic migraines and many other conditions.
• The previous Labor government stopped listing new medicines, including for severe asthma, chronic pain, schizophrenia, blood clots, IVF, endometriosis and prostate conditions.

The facts on Medical Research

• As Health Minister in 2014, Peter Dutton created the Medical Research Future Fund. This is now a $22 billon fund supporting long term investments in medical research.
• This has supported better medicines for rare diseases and improved mental health care. It helped fund the development of the world-first durable Total Artificial Heart, which was recently transplanted into the world’s first patient in Brisbane.

The facts on Pandemic Preparedness

• In 2021, Australia ranked 2^nd in the world for pandemic and epidemic preparedness, in the Johns Hopkins University Global Health Security Index.³
• Australia had one of the lowest fatality rates from COVID-19 in the world. Death rates in the USA and the UK were more than five times higher.
• Bill Gates described Australia’s response as “gold standard”.⁴

The facts on Peter Dutton's Record as Health Minister

As Health Minister (2013 to 2014), Peter Dutton:

• Increased hospital funding by 16%.
  From $13.3 billion in 2012-13 to $15.5 billion in 2014-15.
• Increased overall health funding 5.5%.
  From $62.2 billion in 2012-13 to $65.6 billion in 2014-15.
• Established Australia’s $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund.
• Expanded youth mental health service Headspace – to 100 centres in 2014 Budget.
  After successfully lobbying for 60 centres as Shadow Minister in 2010.
• Expanded bowel cancer screening for 50–74-year-olds.
  Cancer Council said this would save 35,000 lives over the next 40 years.
• Delivered more GP training places and nursing scholarships.

1. Department of Health and Aged Care, Medicare Annual Statistics
2. Department of Health and Aged Care, Health Funding Facts
3. Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security, Global Health Security Index
4. Bill Gates, Munich Security Conference 2022