Australian budget's healthcare changes present no surprises, says Jefferies

Integral Diagnostics

25/03/2025 20:22

** Jefferies notes Australian govt's FY26E budget includes A$7.9 billion ($4.98 billion) over 4 years to expand General Practitioner (GP) bulk billing incentive eligibility, potentially driving up volumes of GP visits and downstream services

** Says budget also provides A$539 million ($339.46 million) over five years from FY25 for a Pharmacy Wholesalers Agreement, marking a 50% p.a. increase in funding

** Jefferies points out that these changes were already flagged and, therefore, present no surprises to the market

** Brokerage keeps forecasts unchanged for healthcare stocks such as Healius HLS.AX, Integral Diagnostics IDX.AX, Medibank MPL.AX, among others

** Healthcare stocks .AXHJ have lost 7% YTD

($1 = 1.5878 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru)

 ((Tanishk.Kumar@thomsonreuters.com; X: @thatstanishk;))