In this Neos Kosmos article, A/Prof Magdalena Simonis was interviewed as AMA Federal nationally elected GP Representative to comment on the recent budget announcement. This is a positive step forward for general practice and the support of our marginalised communities.
NEOS KOSMOS Article
Federal government pledges $5.7bn to boost general practice care and fortify primary care
The Australian government’s injection of $5.7 billion into general practice care has been warmly received by the country’s GPs. The government’s investment in general practice care is a testament to its proclaimed determination to reinforce Australia’s healthcare infrastructure, particularly considering the challenges wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
The Federal Treasurer, Dr. Chalmers, has championed a significant investment to support Australia’s struggling primary care system. Additionally, he has achieved a budget surplus of $4 billion, becoming the third treasurer in recent history, after Paul Keating and Peter Costello, to do so.
“One of the things that makes this the best country in the world is our shared belief that every Australian should be able to access affordable, reliable healthcare,” Dr Chalmers said last night when he presented his budget.
Associate Professor Magdalena Simonis, a GP, and the Federal Council GP Representative on Australian Medical Association (FCGPR-AMA), told Neos Kosmos that reinstating Medicare rebates for longer telehealth phone consultations as a permanent feature is “very welcome.”
“This is the single biggest investment in general practice in decades.”
“Overall, the $5.7 billion funding package will boost Medicare for all Australians.”
“We learned from COVID-19 how necessary this is for healthcare delivery, especially for multicultural communities, and people in rural and remote areas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, older people, and people with disabilities or mobility difficulties,” Professor Simonis told Neos Kosmos.
Professor Simonis said that the “tripling of the bulk-billing incentive for pensioners and children under 16” was very welcome.
“This will encourage GPs to continue bulk billing the most vulnerable people. It also means that GPs working in rural and regional areas will be better supported to stay open.”
She added that the 30 percent increase in the Workforce Incentive Program for General Practice will let GPs expand their practices to “provide multidisciplinary teams to address the growing chronic disease burden in the community.”
“There is also a welcome new item number which is the new Medicare item ‘Level E’ for consultations lasting more than 60-minutes – for very ill patients and people with complex health issues.”
“There is a wound care scheme for general practice, which will be implemented starting with diabetes patients.”
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) President Dr Nicole Higgins, in the organisation’s publication newsGP, hailed the $5.9 billion investment in the 23-24 Budget as “the largest in general practice care in decades.” She added that the government’s investment in primary care reflects many of the RACGP’s advocacy requests.
“This $5.7 billion funding package puts patients first,’ she said. ‘It will help to stem the bleeding, relieve pressure on our hospitals, and ease pressures on people struggling to afford the care they need.
“I’m delighted the Government has listened and responded to the RACGP’s calls to support our GPs, practice teams and the patients we care for.
Below is a list of how the $5.7 billion investment will roll out over the next five years, including:
Below is a list of the how the $5.7 billion investment will roll out over the next five years including:
- $445.1 million to support a 30 percent increase to the Workforce Incentive Program, increasing the maximum payment to $130,000 per practice.
- $99.1 million to facilitate the creation of a new level E MBS item for consultations lasting 60 minutes or longer.
- $3.5 billion over five years to triple the bulk billing incentive.
- $112 million over four years, separate the Strengthening Medicare funding, to introduce a new general practice in aged care incentive payment.
- Funding for longer telehealth item numbers, tied to registered patients (not bulk billing)
- $145 million to support after-hours care, targeted at homeless and culturally and linguistically diverse people.
- $50 million for wound consumables, specific to patients with diabetes aged over 65 years.
- the extension of Practice Incentive Program Quality Improvement (PIP QI) payments for at least another 12 months
- $4.5 million over five years to increase rural generalist trainees by expanding the single employermodel trials by a further 10 trial sites from July 1
The government’s major investment in general practice care aims at shoring up the nation’s primary care system, which has borne the brunt of successive cuts in recent times. It is poised to have far-reaching implications for the health and well-being of Australians.
Source article and photo: Neos Kosmos
Associate Professor Magdalena Simonis AM is the Immediate Past President of the AFMW (2020-2023), former President of VMWS (2013 & 2017-2020) and current AFMW National Coordinator (2024-2026). She is a full time clinician who also holds positions on several not for profit organisations, driven by her passion for bridging gaps across the health sector. She is a leading women’s health expert, keynote speaker, climate change and gender equity advocate and government advisor.
Magdalena was awarded a lifetime membership of the RACGP for her contributions which include past chair of Women in General Practice, longstanding contribution to the RACGP Expert Committee Quality Care, the RACGP eHealth Expert Committee. She is regularly invited to comment on primary care research though mainstream and medical media and contributes articles on various health issues through newsGP and other publications.
Magdalena has represented the RACGP at senate enquiries and has worked on several National Health Framework reviews. She is author of the RACGP Guide on Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery and co-reviewer of the RACGP Red Book Women’s Health Chapter, and reviewer of the RACGP White book
Both an RACGP examiner and University examiner, she undertakes general practice research and is a GP Educator with the Safer Families Centre of Research Excellence, which develops education tools to assist the primary care sector identify, respond to and manage family violence . Roles outside of RACGP include the Strategy and Policy Committee for Breast Cancer Network Australia, Board Director of the Melbourne University Teaching Health Clinics and the elected GP representative to the AMA Federal Council. In 2022. she was award the AMA (Vic) Patrick Pritzwald-Steggman Award 2022, which celebrates a doctor who has made an exceptional contribution to the wellbeing of their colleagues and the community and was listed as Women’s Agenda 2022 finalist for Emerging Leader in Health.
Magdalena has presented at the United Nations as part of the Australian Assembly and was appointed the Australian representative to the World Health Organisation, World Assembly on COVID 19, by the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA) in 2021. In 2023, A/Professor Simonis was included on the King’s COVID-19 Champion’s list and was also awarded a Member (AM) in the General Division for significant service to medicine through a range of roles and to women’s health.
