Mark Butler has been here before.

Back in 2008 he was a junior minister working under Nicola Roxon, the health minister who pushed for a fundamental shake-up of the health system: to get it to think with one brain.

The language of the time will be familiar.

Wraparound care for complex patients, block funding for chronic disease management, a move away from fee-for-service along with a now-forgotten revolution in sub-acute care to stop hospitals crumbling under the pressure.