Sweeping Budget changes dramatically alter training landscape | Australian Medical Association

In recent weeks, much has been said of the 2014 Federal Budget and its impact on patients and doctors. Between a $7 co-payment for each GP, radiology and pathology service, Medicare rebate cuts and few protections for the vulnerable, only a hostile Senate currently stands in the way of the Coalition Government’s vision for a wholesale change to a user-pays health system. This move to shift more costs on to patients comes at a time that health systems around the world, most notably the United States, have embraced the need for equitable access to health care for all, particularly those who cannot afford it. After the dust has settled, however, it’s clear that the Budget has also made a number of changes to the landscape of medical training. Health Workforce Australia, created by the nation’s Health Ministers in 2009 to formulate a National Training Plan for Australia’s medical workforce, will be dissolved, with its functions transferred to the Commonwealth Department of Health. Read more..