Health Insurance Amendment (Incentive Payments and Other Measures) Bill 2026

The majority voted against an amendment to the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bill be read a second time" (parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill). This amendment was introduced by Lindsay MP Melissa McIntosh (Liberal).

Amendment text

That all words after “That” be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

“whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:

(1) notes:

(a) during the 2025 election, the Prime Minister promised on countless occasions that all Australians needed to see their GP was their Medicare card, not their credit card;

(b) the latest bulk-billing rate still sits well below the 88 per cent rate reached under the Coalition;

(c) the latest Medicare data shows average out-of-pocket costs have risen to a record $50.77 per visit, up more than 20 per cent in two years;

(d) the total number of GP attendances dropped by 1.8 million visits in the past year;

(e) these delayed or permanently deferred GP attendances result in Australians getting sicker and ending up in our overcrowded emergency departments; and

(f) the Government is pushing family GPs towards bulk billing, despite the Department of Health’s own modelling showing nearly one in three GPs would be worse off if they switched to fully bulk billing; and

(2) criticises the Government for misleading the public and breaking its promises on primary health care”.