Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says it will be "a little while" until he broaches his health reforms with the states.
"We will put a reform proposal in front of the states and territories and I hope they will accept it," Mr Rudd told reporters in Brisbane on Tuesday.
Asked when, he said: "It will be a little while".
He added: "If they don't accept it, then we will go to the people to seek a mandate for taking over the full funding of the system."
Earlier on Tuesday, Australian doctors welcomed reports the government would push to become the main funder of the nation's public hospitals.
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Mr Rudd is expected to announce his health plan soon and it is believed he will broadly follow his health commission's recommendations.
That means the commonwealth would fund hospitals according to an activity-based model.
Each procedure would attract a set dollar amount nationwide, with hospitals paying the difference if it cost them more.
The Australian Medical Association has long argued for a single-funder to end cost-shifting and the blame game between the commonwealth and states.
"The current mish-mash of funding that is provided through a combination of states and commonwealth means that when there's not sufficient funding one arm of government can blame the other," president Andrew Pesce told ABC radio.
"(The proposal) is a significant change which may well address that."
