It proved to be the key issue in the final stages of the lengthy election campaign, but Treasurer Scott Morrison isn't about to throw money at the health system.
The Australian Medical Association has used the still undecided election result to renew its call for the government to lift the freeze on the GP Medicare rebate.
But Mr Morrison says it is wrong to isolate one particular issue.
"We need to ensure that people are confident that we have a viable, sustainable, affordable, funded heath care system into the future," Mr Morrison told Sky News on Wednesday.
The latest Essential Research poll found nearly half of respondents see putting more investment in hospitals and health services as the main priority for whichever party eventually forms government.
Responding to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's admission the coalition must work harder to rebuild the public's trust over health policy, the AMA's head said the freeze - and previous attempts to introduce a GP co-payment - helped Labor's claims resonate during the campaign.
"Other elements of coalition policy lent themselves to the scare and I think they paid for it at the polling booth," AMA president Michael Gannon told ABC radio.
Mr Morrison concedes there were very serious issues in the 2014 Abbott-government budget Labor drew on in its "disgraceful" Medicare scare campaign.
But he said the health system can't just be a "money pit".
"Just throwing more and more money at it isn't going to deliver the viability that is necessary that people can have confidence in," he said.
He said the coalition has been increasing funding for Medicare, hospitals or other parts of the system and that will continue.
"There are concerns there and we need to address them - that in no way justifies, the dishonourable and deceitful campaign run by Bill Shorten," he said.
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