Forcing Australians to think twice before they see the GP to save health dollars will create a perverse incentive as patients head to emergency departments.
AML Alliance Chair, Dr Arn Sprogis said the Federal Health Minister Peter Dutton was initially heading in the right direction about the need to decrease inappropriate hospitalisations as part of a plan to reduce the costs associated with expensive hospital care.
“However, a co-payment as flagged in the lead up to the Federal Budget will create more avoidable hospitalisations,” Dr Sprogis said.
“The Federal Government can’t have it both ways – on the one hand wanting to reduce those episodes of care that do not need to be treated in hospital, but on the other, create a policy that will drive people to emergency departments – it’s not making policy or economic sense,” he said.
“A survey released today by the Consumers Health Forum (CHF) which shows more than 70% of respondents totally agree that a $6 co-payment will mean more people will visit emergency departments to avoid the cost, should serve as a clear signal to the Government that this policy is not geared for savings, it’s geared for more expenditure in the health system.
“We already know there are potentially over two million GP-type presentations occurring in hospitals but with the co-payment that’s going to get worse.
“There are episodes of care that should be treated at the community frontline instead of at the expensive end of the health system – the hospital sector.
“A recent report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) showed that hospital expenditure has grown by 5% in real terms over the past five years. This level of growth is unsustainable and that’s without the impact of a co-payment on the hospital system.
“The CHF survey also found that nearly 70% of respondents said a co-payment of $6 will discourage them from seeing a GP.
“From a clinical perspective this is very concerning and could lead to more people being ill longer and needing greater care when treatment is not timely.
“If the Federal Government is contemplating scrapping Medicare Locals – the organisations designed to keep people well and out of hospital, on top of a co-payment that sends people to emergency departments or contributes to making people sicker, then it’s clear the health expenditure will remain unsustainable for a lot longer,” Dr Sprogis said.
Source: Medicare Local Alliance