Health privateers target Medicare

Jules Andrews

Who is committed to the maintenance of bulk billing? Not the 
Howard Government, not the ALP and not the Australian Medical 
Association (AMA). These health care privateers have lined up to 
target Medicare, Australia's unique, universal health care 
system.

With the Federal Election looming the Australian Medical 
Association this week showed its colours, making its declaration: 
"Bulk billing is a false prophet".

The statement was made by AMA President Dr Bill Glasson at the 
launch of the AMA's new policy document Key Health Issues for the 
2004 Federal Election.

Dr Glasson couches the policy under his "mantra" of "access and 
affordability". However, he also makes it clear that 
"affordability" does not mean providing services free of charge 
to a patient by way of bulk billing.

Glasson states that bulk-billing is an impediment to doctors 
providing quality health care, and — using some extremely 
spurious statistics to "back him up" — claims that 72 per cent 
of patients would willing forgo bulk-billing if it meant being 
able to easily access a GP.

His poll posed the following question to 1001 Australians: What 
is most important: To be able to see a doctor when I need to OR 
Being bulk billed by a doctor?

Why must the Australian people be forced to choose? Where is the 
option for people to say: "I want to be able to see a doctor when 
I need to AND be bulk-billed?"

AMA rejects bulk billing

During his presentation the AMA President continued to press the 
point home the privateer line:

"The AMA will not support any proposal that includes compulsory 
bulk billing."

"The AMA rejects any Government interference in GP billing 
practices."

"Any pressure on GPs to bulk bill is unacceptable."

"Bulk billing has become an impediment to access."

"Bulk billing fuel[s] revolving door medicine."

The AMA's policy document proclaims many noble aims — it calls 
passionately for better care for the aged and war veterans. It 
decries the state of Indigenous health. It demands that asylum 
seekers have the right to the same standard of health care as all 
Australians.

Yet, while he calls for greater public spending in those areas, 
Glasson claims those aims can be achieved without bulk billing.

Doublespeak

The AMA believes that as long as "affordability" is maintained 
then the health of the most disadvantaged in Australian society 
can be improved.

Dr Glasson's tirade against bulk billing is no doubt music to 
John Howard's ears.

Howard passionately despises the notion of bulk billing, and is 
ideologically opposed to publicly funded health care.

Yet recent advertisements claim the Government is committed to 
retaining bulk billing in the "Strengthening Medicare" package. 
Mr Howard even trumpeted the recent less-than-two percent 
increase in the rate of bulk billing as a measure of its success

Yet it is abundantly clear that Mr Howard's "safety net" scheme 
is a precursor to abandoning bulk billing altogether.

He tells the public that the Government will pick up 80 per cent 
of their "out of pocket expenses", he doesn't tell them that soon 
all of their medical expenses — including the trip to the GP — 
will be "out of pocket".

When the "safety net" legislation was before parliament, the 
Doctors' Reform Society warned: "This so called 'safety net' is 
more a safety net for specialist's incomes, a blank cheque for 
them to increase co-payments from $50 to $150 without feeling 
bad, knowi ng that there is a limit to how much the patient will 
pay."

Last week media reports suggested that the Health Insurance 
Commission had a report containing evidence that some doctors had 
indeed jumped at the chance to bump up their fees.

Labor's health spokesperson Julia Gillard claims the cost of the 
"Safety Net Scam" will blow out by hundreds of millions of 
dollars and has called on the Government to release the Health 
Insurance Commission documents.

Ms Gillard then re-iterated Labor's commitment to abolish 
Howard's Safety Net, and re-invest the money into lifting the 
rate of bulk billing to the pre-Howard level of 80 per cent of 
all GP visits.

The Doctors' Reform Society remains committed to bulk billing and 
the public health system, including the redirection of the 30 
percent private health insurance rebate to the public system.

However, the ALP remains mute on its true intentions for the 
future of the private health insurance rebate that is 
misdirecting $2.5 billion of public health funds into the hands 
of private insurance companies.

The Communist Party of Australia is unequivocal in its stand to 
defend public health care.

Access to quality health care is a right of all Australians.

Medicare — Australia's publicly funded health insurance scheme -
- should be retained and expanded to ensure that right is met.

Bulk billing must be retained as a pillar of Medicare. This is 
the only way to provide universal access and affordable health 
care.

Visits to doctors must be free of charge to the patient, with 
costs billed to Medicare. Everyone who is admitted to hospital is 
entitled to the best available treatment and care in a public 
facility. Such care should not be the preserve of the wealthy or 
the well insured.

This policy can be paid for by scrapping the private health 
insurance rebate scheme and redirecting the $2.5 billion back 
into the public health system.