After the pandemic (which has been a mass-disabling event), the mental health ‘shadow’ pandemic, nurses strikes followed by ambulance officer strikes and more… you won’t be surprised to hear that health and mental health are two of the biggest issues of the 2022 Federal Election. If it’s a big one for you, below are the key health and mental health policy promises made by the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal Party and the Greens – laid out side-by-side.
We’ll keep updating the Health & Mental Health policy comparisons throughout the election campaign.
Last Update: 2 May 2022.
Health
LABOR
- Cutting cost of medication on the PBS, so that the maximum price is no more than $30
- $135m to trial 50 urgent-care Medicare clinics – people would attend these clinics instead of going to the hospital, easing the burden on hospitals around the country
- Launch an extensive review into the NDIS, specifically to investigate and address accusations of waste and excessive red tape
- Prioritising Australian-made medical supplies (including RATs) and medical manufacturing under the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund Labor intends to set up
- Changing the rules to allow regional and outer metro communities to recruit more doctors of their choosing, addressing job shortages to make it easier to see a GP in those areas
- Invest $38.4 million to expand newborn heel-prick screening of rare diseases to test for 80 conditions (instead of the current 25)
LIBERAL
- Cutting cost of medication on the PBS, so that the maximum price is no more than $32.50
- Updating Medicare to include new services, like cancer diagnoses, genetic testing and pregnancy health support
- $58 million provided under the National Action Plan for Endometriosis to improve endometriosis diagnosis and primary care support
- NDIS will also provide $33.9 billion to over 500,000 Australians who have permanent and significant disability in 2022‑23. The total amount is projected to be $44.6 billion in four years. However, keep in mind the number of people covered by NDIS is also increasing, and reports show that people on the scheme received 4% less in 2021 compared to 2020
- $28m to establish a National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability
- Subsidising continuous glucose monitoring devices for people with Type 1 diabetes – Labor will match this plan
GREENS
- Plan to subsidise dental care as part of Medicare
- Fund pill testing at festivals and in the community by establishing 14 new pill testing sites
- Double the Commonwealth Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment funding (brining it to $900 million)
- Providing $371 million to self-determined, community-led First Nations health services to increase their capacity to care for the community. They also plan to allocate $1.07 billion to build First Nations-owned healing places
- Making access to abortion safe and legal nationwide, as well as investing $129 million into Birthing on Country projects to improve health outcomes for parents and babies
Mental Health
LABOR
- $31m in funding to allow patients to bulk-bill telehealth psychiatric services in regional areas (restoring funding cut by the Coalition)
LIBERAL
- The 2022 Budget allocated $547m (over five years) to mental health services, including regional suicide-prevention programs, increase the number of multidisciplinary treatment centres, digital and youth mental health services, and eating disorder care plans
GREENS
- Invest $4.8 billion into mental healthcare, reinvesting the private health rebate back into the public system in an effort to remove out of pocket costs
No ‘gotcha’ moments, no reporting on redundant press conferences, no triggering opinion pieces – Zee Feed is covering the 2022 Federal Election in a way that’s better for your brain.
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