Gippsland doctors say jobs have been saved by the Federal Government’s backflip on cuts to Medicare rebates.
The Federal Government scrapped plans to cut the rebate for GP visits by $20 which were due to take effect today.
Moe GP Dr Robert Birks said the cuts would have forced him to reduce the hours of chronic care nurses at his clinic.
Dr Birks said the Federal Government should not propose any further changes to Medicare until after doctors were consulted.
“There are many challenges facing the Medicare or the health system with the ageing population,” he said.
“The important thing is … making changes ad hoc without any consultation is a sure way to get it wrong.
“Well if the changes had come through as they were suggested our practice almost certainly …[would] have had to cut back on our nursing staff … which indeed is where a lot of our chronic care work is undertaken.”