Doorstop - AMA President, Dr Bill Glasson, Brisbane - AMA response to Federal Government's Medicare changes

GLASSON:        I'd just like to say that the Prime Minister's announcement this morning, and Minister Abbott's announcement in relation to the reforms to the Medicare package, I think, are a move in the right direction.  I think it picks up on some of the key areas that we've been lobbying very hard on the Government - this is around access and affordability. 

The initiatives in relation to the safety net, some of the workforce initiatives are put in place, and certainly combined also with the HIC online, the electronic billing.  We think our initiatives are ......     

GLASSON:        ...about 10 per cent or 1,500 doctors over the next four years.  The reality is, will that occur?  Obviously, we've got to have an environment to encourage young and new doctors to go into medicine, we've got to make sure that the doctors that are currently in the system stay in the system.  And so it's really trying to look at what impact this will have on the workforce across the board. 

And this is also specialty areas as well.  There's been very little spoken about the speciality areas, and there is a desperate shortage of specialists across the board as well.  And again, I did have discussions with Mr Abbott this morning about incentives to try and get extra training places for specialists across the board in this country. 

QUESTION:       What about rural and remote Australia, what impact will that have, if any?

GLASSON:        Well again there you've probably got the lowest rate of bulk-billing in those sort of areas, and often the worst access.  So you've got to try and encourage doctors to go and work in those areas.  Now will this package deliver that?  I don't necessarily think it will.  And... but again, I've got to talk to my colleagues to see what impact they think this will have. 

I think we've got to try and encourage younger doctors to go and train in those areas, and that's part of the discussions we've had with the Government, to ensure that our young medical students, not only are attracted from the bush but train in the bush, and I keep saying marry in the bush.  And so I think there's a broader strategy to try and address the issue of workforce for those rural and remote areas.

QUESTION:       Would it ... you spoke to Tony Abbott this morning, what was that all about, just to explain what you're getting or...?

GLASSON:        Yeah, just to get a bit more detail on exactly what they were attempting to deliver and trying to sort of, I suppose, understand, you know, what they were trying to target, I suppose.

QUESTION:       Is there any more?  I mean...

GLASSON:        Well, I think the point to make is that it's a long time to the next election.  I don't think this package is in cement by any means.  And I'd like to think that from our point of view we'll be continuing to lobby hard on both sides of government to ensure that we can deliver to Australians on the issue of access and affordability.  And so this doesn't mean negotiations now are closed. 

I can suggest to you that the profession will come back with a, I suppose, a broad response in the next week or so.  And depending on what the response is, it will depend on how we're going to continue to negotiate with the Government. 

But we're going to bargain hard on behalf of the Australian public, because this is... we feel... and I say to all Australians, this is your opportunity, with an election coming up next year, with health being the major issue, this is your opportunity to deliver the best health package this country has ever seen.  So I ask you, all Australians, to get behind the AMA, get behind the profession, so that we can ensure that all Australians, particularly those, as I say, that are in need, can have the issue of access and affordability addressed in the longer term.

QUESTION:       How does it compare with Labor's offerings?

GLASSON:        Well, they've pinched a bit of Labor's offerings in the sense of the Medicare, you know, Labor's going to... we're going to offer a bonus if you bulk-bill so many patients. 

The good thing about this, it doesn't force doctors to bulk-bill.  And so we said then we wanted carrots not sticks, and they certainly have listened to that, and so they've removed most of the sticks out of their previous package and put carrots in.  And I think if they do that due to the sort of nature of the profession across the board, I think you'll find that most of them will sort of, you know, as they always do, do the right thing by their patients, and particularly those in areas of need. 

So I think it will go along way to addressing the problem.  But as I said, we've really got to look at the fine detail.  And I can tell you that we'll be still at their heels right up until that... until you go to the ballot box.

Ends