Join the campaign: defend public health

by Tom Pearson

The Howard Government has nailed down the agreement of the States for its 
health funding cuts at the Coalition of Australian Governments meeting. 
State and Territory health systems will now be more than $1 billion worse 
off under the federal funding deal. The five-year, $42 billion agreement is 
another nail in the coffin of public health provision; another step along 
the path to the Howard Government's inequitable market driven, for-profit 
model.

The States have rightly warned of dire and tragic consequences as a result 
of the cut, saying it will be a death warrant for some people. State public 
hospitals are already in deep crisis, turning away patients for lack of 
beds, being forced to temporarily shut down casualties, and having to deal 
with overcrowded wards and emergency services.

The states said a gun was put at their heads in the form of a clause in 
this round of funding agreements that would allow the Federal Government to 
penalise those that did not sign on by last Sunday's deadline. "It was 
either sign up, and in doing so accept a massive funding cut to our public 
hospitals, or refuse to sign and get even less funding through the  
penalties", said NSW Health Minister Morris Iemma.

The agreement will result in tens of thousands more people around Australia 
being knocked back for admittance to public hospitals and tens of thousands 
more joining the long elective surgery waiting lists.

Federal Labor has abandoned its commitment to a universally available 
system of health provision, which besides hospital funding includes the 
funding and extension of Medicare and the maintenance of the Pharmaceutical 
Benefits Scheme. In response to this latest attack on public health, Labor 
health spokesperson Julia Gillard said that a Labor government would set up 
"an expert panel" to provide guidelines for "reform" of the system.

She refused to guarantee the restoration of proper funding to the States. 
This is in line with Labor's stated position earlier this year when its 
health spokesperson at the time, Stephen Smith, said of funding the 
Medicare rebate to doctors: "I'd love to increase the rebate across the 
board, but because the Government's kept the screws on for six years we 
can't do that in one go, which is why I've been talking in terms of a 
targeted increase of the rebate in those areas where bulk billing has been 
at its sharpest decline or at its lowest ever."

"Targeting" specific areas means replacing Medicare and its universal 
access with a safety net for the poor and for low income earners.

This goes to the essence of the provision of public health services: 
centralised funding that enables patients to have access to fee-free 
services on the basis of need, not on the ability to pay. Many doctors have 
reluctantly stopped bulk billing because the rebate paid to doctors by 
Medicare has not been increased in line with rising costs for some years 
now.

Increased opposition

The need is for increased funding; the means are available to provide it, 
but the political will to do so is completely absent. The Howard Government 
is hell bent on having a private, profit-driven US-style health system in 
Australia.

Alliances of health care professionals and community-based organisations 
have gathered strength over the past couple of years to take a stand 
against the imposition of such an inhumane state of affairs. Last month in 
Canberra an Australian Health Care Summit was attended by more than 260 
health professionals from over 20 organisations.

They included allied health care workers, physicians as well as doctors 
from general practice, mental health services and the public system. 
Regardless of their political beliefs and affiliations, all were united 
against the privatisation of health services and cuts to funding, and they 
marched on Parliament House to deliver their demands in defence of Medicare 
and the public health system.

Earlier this year the National Medicare Alliance and the Doctor's Reform 
Society developed an alternative proposal for the public health system, 
which would include increased funding through the scrapping of the 
taxpayer-funded $3.6 billion in private health insurance rebate and other 
subsidies. This money could instead be spent on:

* $180 million to pay for nurses in general practice; * $280 million to 
increase the rebate to GPs; * $170 million increase in public hospital 
spending; * $750 million for a National Dental Scheme; * $150 million to 
fund to combat drug company propaganda; * $120 million for Aboriginal and 
Torres Strait Islander health care; * $300 million for aged care.

And there would be $1 billion left over.

* * *

For more information and campaign material visit the CPA website: http://www.cpa.org.au