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News & Trends - MedTech & Diagnostics

Medicare-funded lifeline fuels community action in cardiovascular disease

Health Industry Hub | May 30, 2025 |

With the Medicare-funded Heart Health Check extension set to begin on 1 July 2025, advocates are recognising the significance of this three-year commitment through to 30 June 2028.

The funding, confirmed in the Federal Budget, delivers certainty for a program that aims to tackle one of the nation’s most pressing health crises. Every four minutes, an Australian suffers a heart attack or stroke, a grim statistic that places cardiovascular disease prevention on the national health agenda.

“I’m delighted, particularly because of the advocacy of the Heart Foundation, that our government has put in place ongoing funding for this really important assessment,” said Mark Butler, Minister for Health, Disability and NDIS on Thursday. “Everyone over the age of 45 should talk to their GP about getting a Heart Health Check. It takes less than 30 minutes, and it could save your life.”

Since its launch in 2019, the Medicare-funded Heart Health Check has become a powerful tool in the nation’s preventative health arsenal. Uptake is surging: the first 400,000 Heart Health Checks spanned four years; the next 400,000, just two. Australia is now on course to hit one million checks by the end of the year.

David Lloyd, CEO of the National Heart Foundation of Australia, said “It could be up to 8 million Australians who should have this Heart Health Check because 2.5 million of them are walking around with heart disease and they don’t need it.

“The Heart Health Check is probably the single most important weapon that we have in our own reef for fighting heart disease over the next few years.”

The numbers tell a compelling story: Heart Foundation modelling suggests that increased uptake of the check could prevent up to 76,500 cardiovascular events in five years, while saving the healthcare system $1.18 billion.

But the push for prevention isn’t confined to GP clinics. Partnerships across the healthcare landscape are emerging to bring preventative health to the community doorstep.

One standout initiative is The Heart Health Collective, a collaboration between Novartis Australia, Advara HeartCare, the world’s largest single group of cardiologists and TerryWhite Chemmart, Australia’s largest pharmacy network.

Another high-impact initiative, led by the Shane Warne Legacy in partnership with Novartis Australia, SiSu Health, and Wesfarmers, is targeting regional and rural communities with mobile heart screening services. In areas where cardiovascular deaths are 33% to over 50% higher than in metropolitan centres, these efforts serve as a critical lifeline for underserved populations too often overlooked by traditional healthcare pathways.

These community-driven models reflect the vision behind the CVD Impact Report, recently launched in Parliament and commissioned by Novartis. The report calls for a national shift toward a proactive “Test, Treat, Track” model to facilitate early intervention.

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