Health budget offers no significant surprises for medtech sector

MedTech & Diagnostics News: The Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA) has welcomed the government’s second Federal Budget with no significant surprises for the medtech sector.

Under the ongoing new arrangements relating to the Prostheses List, the government will provide $29.5 million over 4 years from 2023-24 to design, implement and maintain a range of cost recovery arrangements, including $11.4 million over 4 years (and $3.4 million ongoing) to fund enhanced services to the medical device industry. These costs will be partially offset from increased revenue of $9.3 million over 4 years ($3.3 million ongoing) recovered from existing and new charges for services to the industry.

The government will also fund $40 million over 4 years to establish the National Clinical Quality Registry Program for tracking the safety and performance of treatments and medical devices.

“While industry has been closely involved in the new arrangements surrounding the Prostheses List, we now welcome the establishment of the National Clinical Quality Registry Program for treatments and medical devices. The Program will drive continuous improvements in the value and quality of patient-centred healthcare to achieve better health outcomes for all Australians,” said Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA).

To enable the development of new technologies, innovations, and capabilities that benefit Australians and the economy, the government has committed $61.4 million to support the establishment of the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, supported by MTAA and AusBiotech.

In addition, a new Industry Growth Program has been established with $392.4 million to power the development of priority sectors, including medtech, biotech, and pharma.

“This will enable emerging businesses to become the big employers of the future – backing our innovators with investment and advice so they can make the jump from brilliant idea to business plan to a growing enterprise,” Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, said in a statement.

MTPConnect Chair, Hon Jaala Pulford, said the new program will help turbocharge the commercialisation journey of medical science start-ups and SMEs.

Ms Pulford stated “In a tough budget environment, it’s a welcome commitment to the potential of the MTP sector to deliver new, high paying jobs and economic growth, through the development and commercialisation of new medicines and medical devices.

“Through our national network of 40 staff, we understand the importance of carefully curated industry connections and on-the-ground insights to support the growth of emerging companies. With the right support, they can be part of the pipeline of SMEs that grow into tomorrow’s larger companies playing on the world stage. The Industry Growth Program has the potential to work hand-in-glove with the National Reconstruction Fund, providing integrated support throughout a company’s commercial lifecycle.”

Last week, the Minister for Health and Aged Care announced a new National Lung Cancer Screening Program aimed at detecting the disease in its early stages and saving lives. The program, which will receive $263.8 million in funding, is set to begin screening high-risk individuals by July 2025.

Several amendments to the MBS will also attract funding of $125.6 million over 5 years, including $23.6 million to remedy previous changes to MBS orthopaedic items which are said to have impeded patient access to orthopaedic procedures, $18.5 million for testing genetic variants in patients suspected of having either myeloid or lymphoid haematological malignancy, $16.8 million to introduce new MBS item for EndoPredict gene expression profiling test to determine a patient’s risk of recurrent breast cancer, and $13.1 million to introduce genetic testing for hearing loss in children.

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