Patients will suffer under the Federal Government’s “vicious” $18 billion funding cuts to Victoria’s health system over the next decade, the state’s health minister has warned.
The State Government said Victoria stood to lose $17.7 billion as a result of the Abbott Government’s second federal budget handed down on Tuesday.
Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy said the Treasurer’s cuts were savage.
“There is a reason that Joe Hockey barely mentioned health in last night’s budget speech, and when we open the budget papers we find out why. It’s because they’ve made vicious and significant cuts,” Ms Hennessey said.
“We’ve got one year, and then federal health funding effectively falls off a cliff.”
The Government said December’s Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) had originally showed Victoria would miss out on $13.6 billion over 10 years.
Ms Hennessy told Victoria’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee that emergency departments would be swamped and elective surgery waiting lists would blow out if the Commonwealth did not reverse the cuts.
“We must not expect that you can cut $17.7 billion out of the Victorian health budget and expect that patients won’t wait longer and that people won’t get sicker,” she said.
“Last night [Prime Minister] Tony Abbott belled the cat. The Liberal Party is not interested in investing in health care and Victorians will suffer because of it.”
The Federal Government is changing the hospital funding formula from a system that was based on demand and costs to one that is linked to inflation and population growth.
The change will come into effect in the 2017-18 financial year.
The Commonwealth is also axing the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health, which paid for programs to encourage healthier lifestyles.
Victoria ‘won’t give up fight’ against Abbott Government
The State Government said it was dismayed about funding cuts to Koori maternity health and Indigenous sexual health programs, like Wulumperi at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, and a $181 million shortfall in funding for Victorian public dental services.
Ms Hennessy said she was examining ways to “soften the blow” of cuts to the Healthy Together Victoria program, while an estimated $181 million in funding over four years for Victorian public dental services had been deferred.
She said the Victorian Government would fight federal cost-shifting on health.
“Every time there’s a budget or a MYEFO things seem to get worse,” she said.
“We will always do all we can to mitigate the harsh effects of those cuts, but we cannot stump up everything that the Commonwealth walks away from.
“We are not going to give up the campaign against Tony Abbott and the federal Liberal Government.”