In presenting the submission AMA Federal President, Dr Bill Glasson, said all Governments must put patient care and community health ahead of party politics in future Health Care Agreements.

"We need to re-define the roles and responsibilities of the different levels of Government," Dr Glasson said.

The submission also looks at:

• ways to simplify funding arrangements
• providing greater accountability from governments
• sustaining the private health sector and private health insurance
• consideration of a single safety net to cover Medicare and the PBS
• embracing IT initiatives, and
• the role of the GP in guiding patients through the maze of the health system.