Tamworth doctors Ian Kamerman and Daniel Rankmore pleased with federal budget's $5.7 billion commitment to health care

Local doctor Ian Kamerman was not expecting the announcement of a total $5.7 billion to strengthen Medicare in the budget on May 9.

"From the chatter that's been happening after the budget, we're all amazed that a lot of the things have been rolled out or been funded," he said.

The government has announced it will triple the incentive paid to GPs to bulk bill consultations for families with children under 16, pensioners and Commonwealth concession card holders.

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While the cost of providing consultation is still somewhat more than the total amount that's been offered, Dr Kamerman said, it means doctors can look at their billing and revamp their policies around supporting the less well off in society.

The devil is in the detail, according to Barton Lane Practice GP Daniel Rankmore.

The existing Medicare rebates have gone up despite remaining below inflation, he said, but bulk billing just became a lot more feasible.

"What we do as an individual practice, we're still working out, because even with that figure, it's still going to be below what our current rates are," he said.

Dr Kamerman is "very enthusiastic" about the workforce incentives supporting the employment of nurses, allied health and other health professionals in practices.

Funding for the Workforce Incentive Program - Practice Stream maximum incentive program will be increased to $130,000 per practice per year.

But as the existing cap is at $125,000, Dr Rankmore said, actually, it's not that big of an increase per practice.

Included in the budget are "hints" about changes in the industry, such as moving away from traditional general practice, Dr Rankmore said.

More funding for urgent care centres, the incorporation of allied health and multidisciplinary teams in practices, and the introduction of MyMedicare, a voluntary patient registration to formalise relationships between patients and their primary care providers, are all examples of innovation.

What that may do is make entering general practice more attractive to new graduates, Dr Kamerman said.

"At the moment very few new graduates are turning to general practice as a career choice, so it reverses some of that trend," he said.

Both Dr Kamerman and Dr Rankmore noted the $98.9 million to connect frequent hospital users to a general practice to receive comprehensive, multidisciplinary care in the community to reduce the likelihood of hospital re-admission.

"That's really interesting, and that will hopefully take some of the burden off emergency departments," Dr Rankmore said.

Dr Kamerman said it represents funding what general practice is good at, "and that's hospital avoidance".

It's now a matter of ensuring the government, and organisations representing health care such as the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian College of General Practice (RACGP), work together towards bringing these promises to fruition, Dr Kamerman said.

"I think it's exciting," Dr Rankmore said.

"I think that shows the government's listening, and I think that's a step in the right direction."

The budget responded to calls made by the RACGP, its president Dr Nicole Higgins said, and "puts patients first".

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