AMA supports increase in Medicare levy to help fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that the AMA supports the Government’s plan to increase the Medicare levy to partially fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Dr Hambleton said the Scheme will benefit the entire community by providing proper care and support for Australians with a disability and their families, and it is appropriate that the broader community contribute to the Scheme through the levy.
“The AMA has advocated for a National Disability Insurance Scheme for many years,” Dr Hambleton said.
“The introduction of this Scheme will be a defining moment in social equity in Australia.
“It is an opportunity for truly transformational reform for the benefit of the most vulnerable people in our community.
“We need to have a properly funded, and reliably funded, Scheme for it to be successful.
“Governments need to make the hard decisions about how this will happen, and we have seen evidence of that today.
“There is bipartisan commitment to the Scheme. We now need bipartisan support for funding the Scheme.
“The AMA notes that the Coalition has different plans to fund the NDIS. We look forward to hearing more details about these alternative funding arrangements.
“There is still work to be done in how the Scheme will operate, and the AMA is keen to provide medical input to this work,” Dr Hambleton said.
1 May 2013
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