National peak community and health consumer groups today called on the Parliament to reject any deal struck by the Health Minister and the doctors union, declaring that a Medicare co-payment posed an unwarranted burden on the chronically ill and the most vulnerable in our community.
“Health and illness concerns us all and Health Minister Peter Dutton should be listening to voices in the community and groups representing all users of the health system,” said Dr Cassandra Goldie, CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service.
“We know that imposing a fee to see a doctor will lead to people putting off visits than can lead to early treatment which is the best health outcome, both for them and the community because later interventions are always more costly.
“It would hit poor and chronically ill people hardest, and exemptions would not go far enough. Many people would remain exposed and people on the lowest incomes will still face cost barriers,” Dr Goldie said.
Consumers Health Forum CEO, Adam Stankevicius said:
“The Government suggests the Medicare co-payment is a price signal for consumers. Price signals work for discretionary items. Health care is not discretionary!”
“It is unacceptable that consumers have been left in the dark. Why is the minister restricting his negotiations with doctors, what about the people who will have to pay?
“At a Consumers Health Forum conference this week, leading health system experts suggested several ways Australia could make the health system more effective and save billions of dollars a year. We should be considering these options before slugging consumers with a $7 price hike,” Mr Stankevicius said.
The CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, Michael Moore, said:
"At a time when so many countries across the world are working to achieve universal health care it is appalling that the Australian government is working to undermine the very same thing. Hopefully the government will be held to account by those in the Senate who really understand that we need more than a 'safety net'.
“Illness is not something we can always plan for, it tends to hit people at particular points in life, such as childhood and old age. It’s often something that can hit many individuals in a family at once. This is why we decided 30 years ago that fairest and most humane is to provide universal primarily healthcare for everyone for whenever illness strikes.
“We all pay for visiting our doctor - it is not free - it's called Medicare. And it works pretty well. Suggestions that health spending is unsustainable are not borne out by the figures. Australia spends almost half as much as United States on healthcare (10% of our GDP) but have higher health outcomes. So why would we want to down the US road?” Mr Moore said.
In conclusion, the three organisations made the following points:
- When it comes to health costs, no decision about us should be taken without us.
- A mandatory co-payment would wreck a fundamental principle of Medicare: universal access to healthcare.
- We urge the Health Minister, Peter Dutton, to consult on the Medicare co-payment issue with groups representing all users of the health system, not just the doctors.
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