The federal budget must include a serious plan to address the nation's GP shortage or risk leaving health in a "perpetual state of crisis", South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas says.
The premier said the big issue putting pressure on public hospitals remained the failure of Australia's primary healthcare system, including the inability of people to get appointments with general practitioners.
He said that left many patients getting sicker and ending up in hospital beds in situations that were preventable.
"The GP-Medicare system in this country is teetering on a permanent state of crisis," Mr Malinauskas told reporters on Thursday.
The premier said the SA government was "throwing the kitchen sink" to ease pressure on hospitals and described the federal government's recent Medicare review as a genuine exercise that was well thought through.
"But there now needs to be rubber hitting the road from the federal government to actually make a difference," he said.
"In my mind, this year's federal budget will be a critical moment.
"In this year's federal budget we need to see a serious plan from the commonwealth to address the GP crisis.
"Because anything short of that means we're going to be in a perpetual state of crisis around the country in health in a way I just don't think Australians will accept."
Last week's national cabinet meeting considered recommendations from the Medicare task force on measures to improve healthcare affordability and accessibility, support people with chronic health conditions and take pressure off hospitals.
Its report calls for patient-centred care to be at the heart of reforms and includes recommendations to improve access to general practice, use the health workforce better and improve the My Health Record system.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government intended to act on the recommendations.
"The key going forward is to better integrate the systems so that patients (have) better health care and we know that the earlier the care is provided, the cheaper that care will be," he said.
But the PM said better policy, not necessarily more funding, was the key to fixing issues in the Medicare system.
