Kick Howard out: Defend Medicare

Anna Pha

"Medicare is dying. So are our patients". This grim warning came 
from Dr Tim Woodruff, President of the Doctors' Reform Society 
(DRS). He referred to the Howard Government's propaganda booklet 
being delivered to every home and appearing in the print and 
television media. It is a scandalous waste of money by a 
discredited government making a last ditch attempt to fool the 
public in the coming federal election. The booklet is a multi-
million dollar donation from taxpayers to the Liberal/National 
Party election campaign.

It is the latest big lie from a government that has become 
notorious for lying to the public. It is called Strengthening 
Medicare when the Government is doing exactly the opposite.

"Taxpayer money is being spent promoting the murder of Medicare 
under the dishonest label Strengthening Medicare", said Dr 
Tim Woodruff. "Our patients see daily the evidence of Medicare 
dying a slow death, and we know this means some of our patient 
are dying the same death".

Propaganda booklet

The Medicare propaganda booklet has photos of happy families with 
banner headlines such as "Caring for all Australians" and 
"Protecting and strengthening Medicare".

One of its biggest boasts is a new "Safety Net" which applies to 
treatment outside of hospitals, such as X-rays, scans and 
pathology tests.

This safety net cuts in when out of pocket costs (the gap between 
fees paid and Medicare refunds) total $300 or $700. The $300 
threshold applies to families who qualify for Family Tax Benefit 
Part A or individuals holding a Commonwealth Concession Card 
(Health Care, Pensioner Concession or Seniors Health Card).

Once this threshold is met, the usual rebate will be refunded 
plus 80 percent of the gap. There is no cap on this payment and 
specialists will be tempted to double or triple their fees.

The DRS point out that patients are faced with ever increasing 
out-of-pocket expenses to see GPs and that all the Government is 
doing is putting in place a safety net which will lead to a cost 
blow-out in the health budget as doctors realise the Government 
is prepared to cover whatever they charge.

Dishonest promises

Government promises that the new safety net will "protect all 
Australians against high medical costs" for out of hospital 
treatment are totally dishonest.

A safety net has only become necessary because of the failure of 
the Government to fund and strengthen Medicare. During its eight 
years in office the Government has consciously and 
systematically, bit by bit, set about killing it off.

If bulk billing were universal, patients would not be out of 
pocket when they visited a doctor or used other medical services.

The Medicare booklet says that the "mainstays" of Medicare are:

* free treatment as a public patient in a public hospital;

* continuation of the Medicare rebate of 85 percent of the 
schedule fee for a visit to a doctor;

* affordable medicines through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme 
(PBS).

Medicines

The booklet does not go into details about the plans for the PBS 
but with the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement about to be 
adopted, the cost of medicines will inevitably rise.

The continuation of the Medicare rebate means nothing if the 
government does not raise scheduled fees to doctors in line with 
rising costs. The Howard Government froze them after coming to 
office, forcing many doctors to abandon bulk billing or close 
their practice.

Free treatment for a "public patient in a public hospital", 
glosses over the number of people who are now entering public 
hospitals as private patients.

The government says little about the more than $2.4 billion 
injection it makes to private insurance companies through the tax 
rebate and other subsidies. Without this injection the private 
hospital system would collapse. 

Any government genuinely committed to Medicare and the public 
health system would abolish that $2.4 billion rebate to the 
private system and redirect the money to public hospitals and 
bulk billing. There would be more than enough left over to fund a 
public dental health system.

The real "mainstays" of Medicare are universal bulk billing (no 
fees at point of service), quality health care and adequately 
funded and staffed hospital services accessible to all.

Patients who fall into the safety net will have to divulge 
endless personal details, collect receipts, monitor spending and 
some will have to register.

Doctors and other health professionals and their staff will be 
confronted with time-consuming complexities: categorising 
patients, deciding who can be bulk billed, and how much to 
charge. They will need to check health cards, assist patients and 
intrude into their private affairs.

While there are some worthwhile proposals, such as increasing the 
number of doctors, the main objective of the government's policy 
is the privatisation of health services.

This is why the Howard Government is hell bent on destroying 
Medicare as a huge step to the total privatisation of health 
services. The Labor Party is sitting on the fence, still holding 
back from making a firm commitment to abolish the private health 
insurance rebate.

The Communist Party of Australia is firmly committed to Medicare 
in all its key features, with central funding through a 
progressive taxation system.

In the forthcoming elections, the CPA urges readers to vote for 
left and progressive candidates who have a strong commitment to 
the public sector, including Medicare.