PHOTO XINHUA CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday that health reform would be the top priority for him and state and territory leaders this year.
Albanese made remarks when he met with state premiers and territory chief ministers to discuss an overhaul of the health system.
The leaders received a report into Medicare, Australia's universal health care system, which was commissioned by Albanese's government shortly after winning power in 2022.
The report made 21 recommendations for improving the affordability and accessibility of health care and reducing pressure on hospitals.
More people are avoiding visiting their general practitioners GPs because of the costs, and hospitals across the country have reported growing waiting times at emergency departments.
State and territory leaders had joined forces to call for the federal government to overhaul Medicare and increase hospital funding, but agreed to wait until later in the year to decide how to address the strained system.
We all agree on what some of the issues are. Albanese told reporters after the meeting on Friday that people are turning up at emergency departments because they don't have other options.
We know that the earlier care is provided, the cheaper care will be as well, because we know that the key is to better integrate the systems, so that patients are what it is all about, better healthcare. The government set aside 750 million Australian dollars $528.7 million to fund the Medicare report's recommendations and the Minister for Health Mark Butler flagged further spending in May's federal budget.