Page 1838 - Week 06 - Thursday, 5 June 2014
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In combination with jobs being cut, Newstart being slashed and university becoming more expensive, life is being made harder for single parents, people with disabilities and young people. Making health care more expensive too just is not fair, especially when we hear that 22 per cent of Australians already cite cost as an impediment to health care.
This policy will not just impact on young people. I understand that seniors are the major users of Australia’s healthcare system. Introducing co-payments for GP visits and increasing costs of PBS medicines will mean basic health care may be compromised for many seniors, especially low-income seniors. When we already know that a significant proportion of seniors currently struggle to pay their electricity, gas or telephone bills on time, this is the last thing that they need. Seniors may decide not to visit their GP or will forgo their prescription medication. They will consequently get sicker and end up in expensive tertiary hospital care, potentially with a more limited life expectancy. When we hear about these direct impacts, it is alarming to then hear in the last few days that federal health officials did not undertake any modelling on whether a co-payment would cause a spike in hospital visits.
Madam Deputy Speaker, there are many appalling things in this year’s federal budget, but the Medicare co-payment scheme is certainly amongst the worst in terms of public policy in actually serving the needs of everyday Australians. The Greens are very concerned that the federal government has effectively decided that, when it comes to Australians’ health, our credit cards are more important than our Medicare cards.
I think it is important for this Assembly to write to Mr Abbott and Mr Dutton to tell them that we do not support their proposal for Medicare co-payments, as we do not believe that health should be determined by income. I look forward to members’ support to stand up for Medicare and support this motion today.
The actual text of the motion, I think, sets it out very simply. It underlines the fact that universal quality health care is a mainstay of Australian society and that the $7 Medicare co-payment is being applied to all GP visits, pathology tests and diagnostic imaging, around 70 per cent of services, and that is a burden on the poor, the young, the elderly and people with chronic illnesses—the ones who can least afford to get sick. The increased costs of PBS medicines will have an impact on the cost of living of low-income families. The measure has the potential to discourage access to doctors in the early stages of health concerns, which will cost the government more in the long run.
The sustainability or otherwise of the Medicare program will not be addressed by the co-payments, because the funding is being diverted to other places. Over 50 per cent of GP visits in Canberra are bulk-billed, so this will have a very direct impact on many of our constituents right here in Canberra. That is why I think it is important for this Assembly to express its views strongly to the federal government and urge them to withdraw their proposal to introduce Medicare co-payments. I commend the motion to the Assembly.
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