Page 3288 - Week 12 - Thursday, 19 November 1992
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There have been no government funding increases to meet the decline in patient revenues. In fact, public hospitals have treated considerably more patients through shorter lengths of stay and more ambulatory procedures at a time when most State governments have enforced real reductions in hospital budgets. There is no denying that. In fact, the Australian Hospitals Association conference Mrs Carnell alluded to said that loud and clear. The major problem with Medicare, from the public hospital sector's perspective, has been the increased numbers of free public patients and the decline in paying private patients.
Every time there is a blow-out, and it is very often in the ACT, we are told that the reason is that there have been more free patients who can afford to pay something, and the others have to wait in line. As Mrs Carnell quite correctly said, there are 1,972 people in the ACT on the waiting list - a 20 per cent increase on last year. They are the facts. You will not read that in Fightback, which Mr Lamont was trying to talk about.
Mr Kaine: You will not read it in their policy.
MR DE DOMENICO: You will not read it in their policy either. The facts of the matter are that in the ACT currently, under this wonderful system that everyone is talking about, the current Medicare system, there are 1,972 patients waiting - a 20 per cent increase on last year. There is no denying that; nor is there a denial of anything Mr Wilson said. Mr Wilson, let me remind you, Madam Speaker, is not a Liberal Party supporter but a member of the Labor Party, a Cabinet Minister in Western Australia since 1984 and considered to be one of the most knowledgeable Ministers in this country on the health system.
Mr Cornwell: The longest serving.
MR DE DOMENICO: The longest serving. There is bipartisan support from the best, longest serving, most knowledgeable man on the Medicare system. What does he decide to do? Does he decide to embrace this magnificent new agreement? Of course he does not. He does what his conscience tells him to do, from a number of years' experience, and he resigns. He cannot be forced and coerced into supporting Mr Howe. That is what Mr Wilson thinks of the Medicare agreement. For people to come in here and talk about these sorts of things is just nonsense. Like Mr Wilson, who supports Medicare, the Liberal Party also supports Medicare, and there is nothing in the Fightback document, which Mr Lamont was alluding to, that indicates anything but support for Medicare.
Let us look at the situation as it stands. The current health system has many shortcomings; there is no denying that. They are resulting in rising costs, overservicing, long waiting lists, misallocation of resources, rising health insurance costs, a widening gap between bills and benefits, and an oversupply of doctors. By providing virtually free services at the point of delivery without regard to the patient's means, Medicare has encouraged overuse and discouraged private insurance. It has produced long waiting lists in public hospitals while private hospitals have remained half empty. Furthermore, it has failed to tackle gross inefficiencies in the public hospital systems, which are poorly managed and riddled with restrictive work practices. There is no denying that either.
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