Federal government commits to fixing Australian healthcare system to better help women

7NEWS

24-05-2025

Federal health minister Mark Butler has told 7NEWS women seeking help in Australia's healthcare system for a range of issues 'haven't got the proper attention' conceding more needs to be done to fix the crisis.
As part of women's health week on 7NEWS, dozens of women have come forward revealing misdiagnoses that could have cost them their lives.
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With endometriosis, a condition causing severe pelvic pain, affecting one in seven women, Butler promised to make it a 'national priority.'
'What we're trying to do is increase the capabilities of GPs, the front-line service for most Australian women to diagnose quickly and to give good support to Australian women with this condition,' he told 7NEWS health editor Jennifer Bechwati.
'We're also opening specialist endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics for women who have particularly severe and complex symptoms to provide specialist support and lastly, the really critical thing is to make sure that women have access to the best available medicines.'
Maternity closures
The federal government has promised to increase capabilities in public hospitals, where private hospital maternity wards have shut down across the country.
But the sector warns it's not enough, foreshadowing more closures this year.
Butler says health insurers need to look at changing policy benefits to give women more access to the care they deserve.
'We've said to the insurers that we think they need to consider providing maternity beyond just gold products for private health insurance.'
'A lot of families are buying silver or even bronze products, we think they should consider expanding access to maternity cover beyond just gold product.'
Cancer
Increased awareness, research and development of treatments for specific cancers have seen survival rates soar over the past two decades. But many are still falling behind.
Ovarian cancer, which kills one Australian woman every eight hours, receives only a fraction of funding compared with other cancers, including prostate.
Asked whether he will commit to closing that funding gap, the health minister replied: 'We want to see that gap closed, whether it's in access to medicines or the sort of nurse and navigation support that patients and their families need while they're going through the cancer journey.'
Mental health
As 7NEWS revealed this week, one in two Australian women will be impacted by a mental health issue at some point in their life, with millions now seeking help online.
Two thirds of online inquires at SANE, one of Australia's leading mental health groups, are now women.
But services targeted at those over the age of 40, who carry significant burden, are in dire need of funding.
The federal government has promised to increase free options for women seeking support.
'We don't want affordability to be a barrier to people getting the mental health support that they need, that's why we're opening more Medicare mental health centres,' Butler said.
But he conceded staff shortages could hamper those efforts.
'One of the real constraints is we don't have enough psychologists, we don't have enough psychiatrists to provide the support that our community needs right now,' he said.
'During the election campaign we promised to build on the work we did last term in expanding the psychology workforce in particular to make sure that people have that opportunity to go and get support that they need.'
Menopause
Butler welcomed what he says is a 'growing conversation' on issues associated with menopause and peri menopause, promising to continue making medicines cheaper and supporting GPs to help women through this major transition in life.
He said he was 'shocked' to hear that some medical degrees of fix or six years contain only one hour's training on menopause, a condition that impacts half of the patients doctors will see.
'We're increasing the capability of GPs to support women through this phase of their life,' Butler said.
'We're listing new medicines (on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme). It had been more than 20 years since there had been a new hormone treatment for women going through menopause on the PBS.'
Misogyny
Asked how the government plans to fix medical misogyny so women no longer feel dismissed, Butler conceded: 'We know there's much, much more to do.'
'(We need) to provide women with more choice, with better access and lower cost. They have a range of issues associated with simply being a woman that haven't got the proper attention in the Australian healthcare system.
'But I think what we've done over the last couple of years to improve choice, to improve access and to improve affordability is making a meaningful difference.'
Butler has been re-appointed health and aged care minister, and will take on the new portfolio of NDIS in the re-elected Albanese government.