Nurses take a stand for universal healthcare

Wednesday 5th February, 2014

by Lee Thomas, Federal Secretary of the ANMF

MEDICARE works for everyone in our community.

It’s as simple as that.  Thirty years after the introduction of Medicare, our healthcare system continues to provide world-class care for all, regardless of background, age, financial resources or where you come from.

Of real concern in the last few weeks is that Prime Minister Tony Abbott has refused to rule out the introduction of a $6 up-front charge to attend your local General Practitioner (GP) even if they already bulk bill.

Make no mistake, an upfront fee will have a huge impact on services and the way those in most in need think about healthcare and how they use it for themselves and their family.

People in our community who can least afford it would eventually be forced to pay for what should be free healthcare.  The introduction of any co-payment will be the beginning of the end for free, universal healthcare in Australia.

Our universal healthcare system is the envy of the world – we should fight very hard to keep it free.

Further burden nurses and ED’s

The introduction of a co-payment by the Abbott Government would simply shift the cost burden to the public health system, because many people would head to the hospital Emergency Department (ED) to get checked for routine or relatively minor ailments rather than paying rising upfront fees to see the local doctor.

This will further burden nurses who are already struggling with dangerously high workloads in overstretched EDs.

Waiting times would just get longer, resources stretched even further and staff in EDs would bear the burden of this Government decision on a daily basis.

WATCH: the very first Medicare advertisement from 1983

And we all know what happens when you introduce a seemingly small fee to save the federal government coffers – small fees get a little bit bigger, perhaps with CPI increases (I mean, what’s a dollar or two increase to us?), but then they get a little bit bigger and then a little bit more.

You only have to look at the result of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) to realise that initially small co-payments can become very large burdens.

Healthcare is already overstretched

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation has over 230,000 union members in Australia, in each State and Territory, in public and private hospitals, nursing homes, and GP clinics.

Our members, nurses and midwives and assistants in nursing are the face of healthcare policy in Australia.

We see people in the worst and best of times, when they are sick and the most vulnerable, when they need compassion and understanding.

And that really is the heart and soul of our healthcare system – providing equally for all, decent, quality, healthcare, whether you are rich or poor, regardless of your age and background, we will see you and treat you and care for you.

And we should never, ever want that to change.