The coalition is determined to prove its commitment to Medicare but cautions any extra spending must come from cuts elsewhere.
The government will spend the next three years proving to Australians again that "the coalition is the best friend Medicare ever had", Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos told ABC TV on Sunday.
He acknowledged Labor's election campaign scare over privatising the service was "scratching away at an itch that people had about Medicare and our attitude to Medicare".
But Senator Sinodinos said whatever the cabinet decided to do about Medicare had to be looked at in terms of the overall budget because there's no blank cheque.
"In other words, if we do more on Medicare we have to understand that if we're not going to blow the budget then we have to be able to offset that by savings elsewhere," he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says the coalition has three years to make sure people know there is no intention to privatise Medicare.
(But) "you can only do that with a strong economy and a strong set of books", he told Sky News.
It was difficult to combat Labor's Medicare scare campaign, he said.
"What do you do? Send them to church on Sunday morning? Tell them to talk to their mum and dad?" he asked.
