Prime Minister Tony Abbott … major health policy shift. Source: News Corp Australia
PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has dumped the unpopular $7 GP Medicare copayment.
Instead, doctors will have the option to charge a $5 co-payment, but children, pensioners, veterans and nursing home patients will be exempted.
Mr Abbott said the new package had significantly improved the government’s co-payment measures, while at the same time maintaining the desired price signal.
“But I do want to stress … bulk billing stays for young people and for pensioners, and the co-payment is at the option of the doctor,” he said.
Mr Abbott also stressed that to get the full Medicare rebate, doctors will have to see patients for a minimum of 10 minutes up from the current six minutes under what he called a “quality control measure”.
Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra that doctors will continue to be encouraged to bulk bill pensioners and children aged under 16, while adults who do not carry a concession card will be charged at the doctor’s discretion.
“Only for adults who aren’t on concession cards will there be the option of doctor charging at their discretion a $5 co-payment,” Mr Abbott said.
Incentives to bulk bill concession card holders and children under 16 remain in place.
The new measures will apply from July 2015.
Cuts to Medicare rebates for blood tests and X-rays and scans have been abandoned under the changes Mr Abbott said showed the government was listening to community concerns.
The government announced plans for the co-payment in the May budget.
It was opposed by Labor, the Greens and crossbenchers in the Senate as well as doctors.
Health Minister Peter Dutton said the new measures carried a “strong balance of fairness”.
Mr Abbott said: “I think they (doctors) will acknowledge this is a significantly better package than what was brought at budget time.
“The decision crystallised late last week and was supported by the Cabinet this morning.”
Mr Dutton said that doctors would “acknowledge this is a significantly better package than what was brought at Budget time.”
“Sure this is a change but a very carefully targeted change which is all about giving the families in Australia the best possible deal,” he said.
Originally published as PM backs down on GP co-payment