Aussies smash 300,000 heart health check milestone

Media release: 30 June, 2022

Heart Foundation urges Aussies to maintain record-level of Medicare-subsidised Heart Health Checks

Australians have now passed a milestone number of life-saving Medicare-subsidised Heart Health Checks, propelled in part by the recent and unfortunate heart events impacting high-profile people.

New Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) data for May 2022 has just been released, showing Australians have now had more than 309,000 Medicare subsidised Heart Health Checks with their GPs since the item was introduced in 2019.

More than 10 percent of those checks have occurred since March this year following a spate of tragic heart events affecting high-profile Australians. The Heart Foundation also ran a national education and awareness campaign during Heart Week in May to encourage Australians to book in their check.

The Heart Foundation is now calling on Australians to continue their record-breaking heart health efforts. Chief Medical Adviser, Professor Garry Jennings AO, said anyone aged 45 or over (or from 30 years for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people) should have a regular Heart Health Check.

“It is great to hit this milestone but there are over 8 million people who are eligible for a check,” Prof. Jennings said.

“Our message to those Australians is that heart disease is progressive, and its symptoms rarely show before it’s too late. A Medicare subsidised Heart Health Check takes just 20 minutes and could help add years to your life as an important first step towards a healthier heart.”

Professor Jennings forecast that demand for Heart Health Checks might increase further as Australians resumed their routine, preventative health check-ups.

“At this rate, we could well reach our target of 450,000 Medicare subsidised Heart Health Checks by the middle of 2023,” Professor Jennings said.

“This just reiterates the need for Government to ensure that Heart Health Checks will be permanently subsidised by Medicare beyond its June 2023 expiry date, especially after several years of people putting off their health due to the pandemic.”