Bipartisan support for medical indemnity stability an AMA win
AMA President, Dr Tony Bartone, said that two years of strong advocacy by the AMA has resulted in much-needed stability and future security for the medical indemnity sector, ensuring the ability of doctors to continue to practise the art and science of medicine.
Dr Bartone said that the introduction of a Bill to Parliament last month – the Medical and Midwife Indemnity Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 – will ensure that the AMA’s hard-won medical indemnity reforms of 2002 will continue to provide confidence for doctors, their patients, and insurers.
The Bill is expected to pass Parliament in the next sitting period, with bipartisan support.
“The last two years have seen a challenging but rewarding journey for the AMA in steering two indemnity reviews to a successful conclusion,” Dr Bartone said.
“The AMA has fought hard to maintain the stability of our medical indemnity system and preserve the underwriting from the Commonwealth, which we achieved well over a decade ago.”
Dr Bartone highlighted the significant time and resources that the AMA invested into the Government’s indemnity reviews, as a stable medical indemnity sector is critical to practise medicine and focus on patient outcomes.
“There will be no further cuts to the Commonwealth’s funding of these schemes, including but not limited to the High Cost Claims Scheme and the Premium Support Schemes,” Dr Bartone said.
“There will now be a separate scheme for allied health practitioners, meaning they are no longer part of the Medical Indemnity Schemes.
“This is an important, and welcome, development for the medical profession.”
Read the full media release here.
