Health minister Mark Butler has made it clear the federal government will remain in pursuit of ‘out-of-control’ specialist fees, arguing all policy options are on the table for curbing costs for patients.
In comments to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s Inside Politics podcast, the minister said the costs of going to a specialist were becoming more of a “barbecue stopper” than bulk billing rates in general practice, a topic which was the flagship policy of the Albanese government’s first term [link here].
“That concern has really shifted to stories of people not going to a specialist because they can’t afford the out-of-pocket, or not having a procedure because they can’t afford the out-of-pocket, or if they do have the procedure, getting news about the out-of-pocket only the day before,” Minister Butler told the program last week.
“As far as we’re concerned, every option is on the table. [There have been] arguments that there are constitutional limitations on our ability to regulate specialist fees. We intend to test the boundaries of that.”
The scrutiny on appointment and procedure fees looks set to intensify throughout the rest of 2026, with an inquiry into access and affordability of medical specialists accepting submissions until October [link here].
Health minister Mark Butler.
The terms of reference will see the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability examine access to medical specialists across the country, the transparency of referral pathways and the affordability of consultations diagnostics and procedures.
No submissions have been made public at this stage.
Meanwhile, consultation recently closed on legislation to overhaul the Medical Costs Finder website, which would mandate the publication of specialist fees on one central platform.
But the nation’s medical colleges warned the government’s approach, which would include deriving a single average fee for each specialist service, could backfire and result in doctors clustering their fees around a single higher price [link here].
Specialist fee reform is just one agenda item on a packed list of health policies at present, as the Albanese embarks on major reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. At the same time, the medicines industry is eagerly awaiting information about when major recommendations from the HTA review, completed in 2024, will be formally adopted.