Sydney Morning Herald: If the changes to Australia's health system being signalled by the Abbott government are enacted, Medicare will exist in name only. Thirty years ago this month Medicare was established on the principle that all Australians should have equal access to healthcare. Universal healthcare is a cornerstone of our social safety net and central to the commitment we have for each other's health and welfare.
When Medicare was introduced Australia didn't have a universal healthcare system. Bob Hawke as prime minister warned that without it 2 million people ''faced potential financial ruin in the event of major illness''.
Leaving aside the fact that $6 is not an insignificant amount of money as the Health Minister argues, for a lot of Australians, introducing a fee to visit your GP will do much more than just send a ''price signal'' to the market. It will restrict their access to GPs - in fact that is exactly what the measure is designed to do.
GPs are actually the cheapest end of the health system. They are experts at diagnosis and it is their job to pick up on potential health problems in their infancy. If this does not happen and people end up at the expensive end of the system - hospitals - there won't be any actual savings.
The most recent statistics on bulk billing show the rate is 82 per cent - the highest ever. This is particularly important for older people, families with children and the more vulnerable of our population.
Introducing a $6 co-payment, means testing bulk-billing, or attacking the Medical Benefits Schedule rebate on GP items destroys incentives for GPs to bulk-bill...READ MORE>>>...
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/gp-copayment-would-mean-the-end-of-medicare-20140223-33ab3.html#ixzz2uFGT8j4u
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/gp-copayment-would-mean-the-end-of-medicare-20140223-33ab3.html#ixzz2uFGN4LL7