Patrick Gorman: Medicare more Aussie than Vegemite (and a crowdpleaser too)

Struggling to get a full breath. Every night with a nebuliser. Spending hours with doctors as I struggled with asthma.

I was a chronic asthmatic as a child spending far too long at Fremantle Hospital and at my local GP Dr David Nelson’s clinic on Canning Highway.

Thankfully, thanks to Australia’s health system, asthma doesn’t bother me much these days.

Medicare and I both have our 40th birthdays this year.

We both have a bit to celebrate.

Medicare is now more Australian than Vegemite. It is the fair go. It is egalitarian. It is mates helping mates.

And, unlike Vegemite, the rest of the world is envious that we have this system.

And it isn’t lost on me that I’m incredibly fortunate to have been born in Australia at a time that we’ve had a universal healthcare system.

This hasn’t always been the case.

Prior to the introduction of Medicare in 1984 the leading cause of bankruptcy in Australia had been unpaid hospital bills.

Getting the health care that you needed was literally sending thousands of Australians broke every single year.

Then came the health insurance system that was for everyone.

Prime Minister Bob Hawke said: “With this historic initiative, all Australians now have a new, simpler and fairer health insurance system.”

And for me as a kid growing up in the 1980s, I was so fortunate to have that Medicare card.

My parents were both teachers. They worked hard in jobs they loved at a time when there was no paid maternity leave back when they were raising me and my brother. And Medicare is still there for families today.

I am proud to be a part of a Government that is taking this one step further.

On 1 November 2023, the Government made the largest investment in bulk billing in Medicare history.

New data show this record investment has revived bulk billing and created an additional 103,000 bulk billed visits to the GP every week, on average.

In total that is 5.4 million additional bulk billed visits since November last year.

This investment has delivered for the Perth community alongside WAs first Medicare Urgent Care Clinic. Right here in Rudloc Road in Morley.

Since it opened its doors in July 2023, Morley’s Medicare Urgent Care Clinic has delivered entirely bulk billed healthcare to the people of Perth more than 12,355 times.

Our local contribution to the 850,000 patients seen by Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across Australia.

These 11 million Australians see their GP most often: they make up 40 per cent of patients, yet account for 60 per cent of GP visits, on average.

Nationally, 77 per cent of all GP visits were bulk billed in October 2024, an increase of 1.7 percentage points on the same month last year, before the investment took effect.

Services Australia has also identified $27.8 million in unpaid Medicare benefits across WA.

Thankfully, this money is not lost forever. It is possible to claim and even receive interest on unclaimed money, and this is true for 114,365 eligible residents across our State.

To ensure that you are being paid Medicare benefits correctly, you can check your bank details by logging into Medicare’s service in myGov.

Every State and Territory now has more bulk billing, supported by increased support for Services Australia to process claims and cases.

Claims have been processed 84 per cent faster for Medicare Newborn enrolments. Down from 25 days to just four days. For Medicare Online Account claims, they have become 82 per cent faster, down to just two days from a starting point of 11 days.

We are not just strengthening Medicare, we are keeping it running smoothly when you need it most.

The Albanese Government is also celebrating the champions of Medicare in our community.

This week, I watched Alison and Zoe from Homeless Healthcare in Perth receive their award for being Medicare Champions.

Our Government knows that Medicare benefits every community in Australia.

That is why we will always stand up for it.

We know that there is more work to do to reverse the decade of cuts and neglect to our healthcare system. But we know that this is work that only an Albanese Labor Government can deliver.

Not everyone in Parliament supports Medicare. But I always will.

Patrick Gorman is the Member for Perth and the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister