Malcolm Turnbull to forge ahead on GP reforms, despite doctors' funding fears
The Turnbull government is forging ahead with reforms to GP care despite fears its policy is rushed and underfunded.
The government is set to announce 200 trial sites for Health Care Homes – described by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as one of the biggest health system reforms since Medicare – in the coming days, Fairfax Media can reveal.
Under the signature policy, patients with multiple chronic conditions – as many as one in five Australians – will get a co-ordinated and managed healthcare package tailored to their individual needs.
The government says the scheme will "revolutionise the way we care for Australians with chronic diseases and complex conditions" by keeping them out of hospital and living happier and healthier lives at home.
It estimates 65,000 people will participate in the initial two-year trials, which will start on July 1.
But every major doctors' group in the country has criticised the model for the trials, pointing to inadequate funding and design deficiencies.