DOCTORS have backed Health Minister Peter Dutton’s call for a “national conversation” about Australia’s rising health costs, but warned restricting access to GPs could ultimately cost even more.
Mr Dutton yesterday declared the nation’s primary-care and hospital system was unsustainable in its present form, indicating baby boomers were set to pay higher out-of-pocket costs for medical treatment.
Mr Dutton has refused to quash speculation that the government could impose a $6 co-payment on general practice visits, prompting Labor spokeswoman Catherine King to accuse him of plotting to “dismantle” Medicare.
Australian Medical Association president Steve Hambleton this morning said it was “certainly time to have a conversation” about the unsustainable trajectory of health care costs.
But, he stressed, the federally-funded costs associated with GP visits had “flatlined” relative to the cost of hospitals to state government budgets.
“The average cost of someone going to a GP for a Medicare visit is now $36. The average cost of somebody going to emergency could easily be ten-times more than that,” Dr Hambleton told ABC Radio.
“The big drivers in health care costs are not spending in general practice; it’s actually tobacco, it’s alcohol, it’s over nutrition.
“We need to make sure we continue to get access to GPs so we can do that health promotion and prevention and keep people out of the expensive part of the health system.
Dr Hambleton repeated his call for a national alcohol summit, claiming liquor was responsible for $36bn of lost productivity and health care costs.
Delivering what he described as ‘’the first in a series of headland speeches’’, Mr Dutton repeatedly highlighted the heavy burden on governments to deliver healthcare and the need for urgent financial reforms, echoing the warnings of health policy experts in recent years.
”Our 1980s model is tracking on an unsustainable path, with no prospect of meeting the needs of the health of our nation in the 21st century,’’ he said in Brisbane.
Mr Dutton is awaiting the outcomes of the Commission of Audit before re-engaging in reform talks with his state and territory counterparts.
Asked last night if he backed a co-payment on GP visits, Mr Dutton pointed out many Australians already made a co-contribution when it came to prescription medicines and private health cover, while others were already paying to see a GP.
”I want to make sure that, for argument’s sake, we have a discussion about (people) on reasonable incomes whether we should expect to pay nothing when we go to see the doctor,’’ he told ABC’s 7.30.
”Should we expect to pay nothing as a co-contribution, and other taxpayers to pick up that bill?’’
Labor’s health spokeswoman Catherine King warned Mr Dutton intended to ”dismantle’’ Medicare.
“The Liberal Party has never believed in Medicare and they have never believed in a universal healthcare system,” Ms King said.
“Australians who can afford to pay more already do so through a greater contribution to the Medicare Levy.
“This government … plans to introduce a GP Tax that will end bulk billing and privatise healthcare in a way that will lead to inequalities that Australia has never seen under Medicare.
Labor leader Bill Shorten vowed to oppose “any moves by the Prime Minister to dismantle Medicare”.
“All Australians should get the healthcare they need, not the healthcare they can afford at a particular time,” Mr Shorten said in a statement.
“The Prime Minister promised before the election he wouldn’t introduce any new taxes, but now he is trying to sneak in a new GP tax that will hit families every time they visit the doctor.
“He promised before the election he would protect Medicare, but now he is trying to destroy our universal healthcare system.”
Source: The Australian