The proposal has eight components and would have effect from 1 July 2020.

Component 1: Introduce a new ongoing Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item for medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and cancer surgeons to reduce out-of-pocket costs for patients following a cancer diagnosis. The new MBS item would be based on existing MBS item numbers 105 and 116: Professional attendances, whose item descriptions are provided at Attachment A.

• The new MBS item would cover professional attendance at consulting rooms or hospitals by the above-listed specialists for the purpose of providing ongoing care and maintenance of treatment following a cancer diagnosis.
• The item would be required to be bulk-billed and have an MBS schedule fee of $150.00 in 2020-21, with a 75 per cent benefit of $112.50 for services provided when the patient is admitted into hospital as a private patient and an 85 per cent benefit of $127.50 for services provided by a medical practitioner in a non-hospital setting. The schedule fee of the new item would be indexed in line with the current MBS indexation arrangements for the existing MBS items on which it is based.

Component 2: Reduce out-of-pocket costs for diagnostic imaging by funding up to six million free cancer scans through Medicare. This component would provide $600 million over four years from 2020-21 and $1,500 million over the period to 2029-30.

• This would include substantially increasing the rebates for cancer-related scans provided to cancer patients, as long as the service is bulk billed. A Ministerial Working Group would be established comprising radiologists and other medical practitioners, consumers and cancer specialists, and would assist with implementing the policy from within the specified funding envelope.

Component 3: Provide $10 million over two years to establish a Ministerial Working Group to develop a new national standard for informed financial consent for patients undergoing cancer treatment. This would give patients clear and consistent information about the costs they will incur.

Component 4: Provide $125 million per year for four years for a National Partnership Agreement for cancer care services to reduce waiting times for cancer-related surgery and consultations in public hospitals.

Component 5: Establish a support package to protect bulk billing for pathology and keep life-saving blood tests free for older Australians and Australians with cancer. This component would provide $200 million over four years from 2020-21 and $500 million over the period to 2029-30 to increase the bulk billing incentive for pathology tests.

Component 6: Provide $300 million in total over four years from 2020-21 to upgrade cancer centres in hospitals across Australia. As part of this capital investment $60 million would fund 13 radiation therapy facilities in regional and rural areas.

Component 7: Provide $250 million over four years from 2020-21 to invest in targeted services and support for cancer patients, including funding for clinical trials and cancer research, initiatives to support patients with lung cancer and young Australians diagnosed with cancer, awareness campaigns and increasing the number of specialist cancer nurses.

Component 8: Guarantee that every drug recommended by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee will be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme