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- 4 May 2005
Medicare Safety Net Changes
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Mr PAUL McLEAY: My question without notice is directed to the Minister for Health. What is the Government's response to community concerns over Commonwealth changes to the Medicare safety net?
Mr MORRIS IEMMA: On 14 April, in the months following the Federal election, the Commonwealth Government made one of the largest and most significant political backflips ever seen in this country. The Prime Minister announced that the ironclad guarantee, given just six months earlier in relation to Medicare safety net thresholds, had been ripped up and tossed in the bin. Increasing the level of safety net thresholds means just one thing: higher fees for all patients for basic medical services covered by Medicare, for general practitioner services, for referrals to specialists such as neurologists, cardiologists and ophthalmologists, and even for pathology services.
Members of this House should make no mistake: It means increased costs. The primary victims of this backflip will be families earning average incomes who will now be forced to pay an extra $200 a year for Medicare-covered services. Families on average incomes who receive 80¢ in the dollar for out-of-pocket medical expenses over $300 will now have to pay $500 each year before they receive back one cent. That is the equivalent of another five to six visits to a general practitioner for each family each year before the Commonwealth will provide any assistance. Pensioners will have to pay an extra $200 a year out of their own pocket before they qualify for the safety net discount. If you are single the news is no better.
Instead of facing a threshold of $700 before qualifying for the safety net, singles will now have to pay the first $1,000 of basic health care costs each year. To put that in context, a single person will have to visit a general practitioner an average of 25 times a year before being eligible for a discount. It is worth reflecting on the commitments made in October, when the Federal Treasurer categorically guaranteed, "The parameters of the Medicare safety net will not change." On 6 September we had the now infamous and even more categorical quote from the Federal Minister for Health. In promising that the safety net threshold would not be changed he said, "That is an absolutely rock-solid, ironclad commitment." It does not get any more categorical than that.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Willoughby to order. I call the honourable member for Coffs Harbour to order.
Mr MORRIS IEMMA: The Federal Minister for Health said, "That is an absolutely rock-solid, ironclad commitment." Not even John Howard would regard that as a non-core promise. The effect of the decision to abandon this commitment is that hundreds of thousands of families will be forced to fork out more to meet their basic health needs or, worse still, they will simply ignore basic medical problems that should be attended to. It is now clear that the Federal Coalition unequivocally regards Medicare purely as a welfare system for health care. Any commitment they make to any broad-based, universal Medicare system cannot be relied on. The Commonwealth is prepared to sacrifice this principle of universal health care to build their budget surpluses. That is why they ripped billions of dollars from the States and Territories when they forced them to sign the 2003-08 health care agreement. They took the money out of public hospitals to fund their original, discredited, Kay Patterson Medicare package and they have now walked away from the central plank of their strengthening Medicare package, the Tony Abbott package, and the maintenance of safety net thresholds, on the basis that families can now afford to pay massive increases in their medical costs.
The original Kay Patterson package was paid by ripping the money out of public hospitals. Then we got version two, which was unveiled just prior to the election: the rolled gold guarantee. They have walked away from that commitment and any principle of universal health care coverage for basic health care costs. They have walked away from any commitment whatsoever. A line-up of well respected health commentators in the health industry is giving us a clear picture of what it means. Andrew McCallum, the President of the Australian Council of Social Service, said that the change in the safety net threshold is really going to hurt those who are sick and poor. Dr Bill Glasson, the Federal President of the Australian Medical Association, said that families would now feel as though they have been cheated. Prior to the election the new Medicare package, funded from cuts to public hospitals, was unveiled and we have seen how long it lasted: less than six months.
Bill Glasson said that this commitment was supposed to be well thought out and well costed. We have seen just how well thought out and well costed the commitment has been. In the course of condemnation we heard nothing, not one word from the Opposition condemning what their mates in Canberra had done. We did not hear one word of support for our public hospitals when $1 billion was being ripped out to fund the original Kay Patterson package. We did not hear one word, absolutely nothing, from the Opposition when the Abbott package fell apart. When it comes to standing up and defending the New South Wales public hospital system we hear nothing. When it comes to defending the average family whose health care costs will rise through the roof we have not heard one word of support. We are still waiting for one word—
Mr Steve Cansdell: Point of order: My point of order is relevance. I would like to ask the Minister what he is going to say—
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The honourable member for Clarence will resume his seat. The Minister is answering the question.
Mr MORRIS IEMMA: Three months on we are still waiting to hear one word about Port Macquarie Hospital.
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