Coronavirus means Australians are not allowed to travel overseas. Since March, only about third of the special requests to leave the country have been granted.
History will be made when the federal parliament commences its first “hybrid” sitting in the fortnight starting next week, with some members connecting virtually.
Electrocardiograms are a common tool used by GPs to spot heart problems, and every medical student is trained to interpret one. Yet the government plans to remove Medicare funding for GPs to do this.
The Royal Commission into Aged Care declared older people and their families were left “isolated and powerless”. COVID-19 has provided a tragic real-time vindication of the commission’s observation.
New funding aims to fend off a wave of mental ill-health in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We don’t know how severe that wave will be, but we do know financial hardship is a huge risk factor.
Greg Hunt is set to become the lead ministerial face of the sales effort for the proposed controversial new COVID-19 tracing app, aided by the government’s health professionals.
Private hospitals will be on the frontline in the coronavirus battle, under an arrangement with the federal government that makes available the sector’s more than 30,000 beds and 105,000 workforce.
Bulk-billing rates have been trending upwards for well over a decade.
AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts
Yes, 86% of GP visits were bulk-billed in 2017-18, up from 82% when Labor was in power. But they also rose under Labor, while the percentage for “patients” seems to be lower than the percentage for “visits”.
Labor has promised A$8 billion in new health expenditure, while the Coalition has focused on the difference new pharmaceuticals can make to individual Australians.
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It’s been another colourful week in federal politics, highlighted by Greg Hunt’s swearing, the Barnaby Joyce saga taking yet another turn, and One Nation falling apart at the seams.
Greg Hunt’s temperament is of the “street-angel, house-devil” type.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
A plan to fine hospitals for avoidable hospitalisations and pay GPs to prevent them has many issues. The main problem is that it’s impossible to measure the outcomes of health care in Australia.
Greg Hunt is one of three Turnbull government ministers ordered to appear before Victoria’s Supreme Court on Friday.
AAP/Lukas Coch
It is obviously important to protect the institutional integrity and independence of the judiciary – but the judiciary and judicial decisions should not be immune from criticism.
Eating disorders are among the leading causes of hospitalisation for mental-health-related issues in Australia.
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Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has asked the Medicare review taskforce to consider increasing the number of subsidised mental health sessions for those with eating disorders. Why is that necessary?
Greg Hunt has been appointed to the health ministry after the resignation of Sussan Ley last week.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Sussan Ley launched a series of major reviews of health spending programs. The proposals from these reviews are now on the table, and Greg Hunt will have a series of difficult tasks in implementation.
Incoming Innovation Minister Greg Hunt must help Malcolm Turnbull resurrect the innovation agenda.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Political engagement in Australia has changed enormously over the past decade. New organisations such as GetUp! have taken the lead in channelling citizen voice into politics.