Budget 2026: Govt to fund GP health checks for three-year-olds
The government has pencilled in a sizeable $674 million in savings over four years from reducing MBS and PBS fraud.
Medicare will fund GP checks for three-year-olds to assess their health and development, and potentially refer them to the Thriving Kids program, the Federal Government says.
Tuesday night’s budget also committed millions of dollars to fund six new universal bulk-billing GP practices in regional NSW, but had little to say on restricting specialist fees, despite the sharp words on the topic from Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler.
The child health checks were a recommendation from last year’s Senate inquiry into Thriving Kids: the new program to replace the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for children with autism and developmental delays requiring mild or moderate support.
The scheme is due to launch in October.
