Doorstop - Dr Bill Glasson, AMA President, Canberra - Medical indemnity levy; Meeting with Federal Minister for Health & Ageing

GLASSON:        Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.  Just a brief comment.  We're going up this morning to meet the Minister, Senator Patterson, and our clear message is the Government's medical indemnity levy that they're imposing on the profession is unacceptable. 

It will have two impacts:  Simply there'll be less doctors to see out there and essentially patients would be paying more for medical services across the board.

This is about patients' access to medical services in this country and the reality is that patients will be paying more and more for services if this levy is implemented.  And so a message to the Minister this morning that this has to be looked at in the perspective of the overall workforce issue.  And unless something is done urgently, she'll wake up tomorrow and she will not have a workforce in this country.

QUESTION:       What needs to be done and how soon?

GLASSON:        Well the first has to be a recognition of the issue and the problem, and I suppose the cost of the system.  And the cost to the patients out there who are trying to access medical services in this country.  Now whether it be obstetrics, whether it be orthopaedic surgery, whether it be plastic surgery, whatever, patients are actually paying these premiums.  And the doctors are just a conduit between the medical defence organisation and the patients at the other end.  And so the gaps that patients are paying will become greater and greater. 

So there needs to be a recognition of the problem.  There needs to be a recognition of a reform process that has to be put in place to try and address this issue.  And unless this is done, as I say, we're going to have dire consequences from the point of view of workforce in this country.

QUESTION:       What would be a fair amount for the doctors to be paying?

GLASSON:        Well the reality is that the doctors are sick of putting their patients - putting their hands in patients' pockets for more and more to put down a black hole.  So the reality is that, if we know how deep that hole is and what the true amount that needs to be collected is, then essentially the profession is willing to look at it.

But at the moment, they're not willing to look at it in the context of a big black hole that there's no bottom to it, and the reality to make you pay money into this hole for ten years, even more.  And so they are not willing to accept it.  And also on behalf of their patients, they're not willing to accept the fact that they have to charge their patients more and more.

And so what will happen is patients will fall out of private health insurance, will fall back on the public system that is in the disastrous situation at the moment, and the whole medical system in this country will collapse.  And so the reality is that politicians on both sides have to stand up and address this in a constructive way so that you and I can access medical services for the future in this country.

QUESTION:       ...your members today, in relation to the levy.

GLASSON:        Sorry, what's...?

QUESTION:       What's your advice to your members?

GLASSON:        My advice today is don't put the levy notice in your top pocket.  Do nothing with it for the time being.  I'd ask you to put your - if there's a change in circumstance in the way you changed practice in the last five years, as of June 2000, put those notices in to demonstrate how your practice has changed and wait until the discussions we have today with the government and over the next week as to the way we should move forward.

But don't do anything about paying this levy at the moment, for goodness sake.

QUESTION:       What sort of bill were the doctors getting?  How high was it?

GLASSON:        They're up to $260,000.  I mean it seems they range from $50,000 up to about $200,000.  Now the reality is, if somebody is in retirement or somebody has changed their practice and particularly our female practitioners out there who've actually often reduced their practice hours to have a family, and so they should, find themselves hit with these large bills that really are just unpayable in the context of their current practice situation.

And so it's just a nonsense.  It's poorly thought out.  It's been poorly announced and in a sense you're just going to have a huge backlash on the politicians across the board.

QUESTION:       The health bill is already high, given the public hospital system and subsidising private health insurance.  Can the government also be expected to cover medical indemnity for private practitioners?

GLASSON:        I think the reality is, it's all about patients.  It's all about the fact that a) are you going to ask patients to pay more and more.  And if the government feels that the patients can put their hand in their pocket deeper and deeper, then if they pursue that line, I can tell you it's going to an electoral backlash. 

Because I tell you, the young families out there are hurting.  These are women who are having babies at the moment, are paying more and more.  Gaps up to $3,000 on top of their private health insurance and on top of their Medicare levy.  And they're saying where is the end?

And so the reality is we have a system that has failed and it failed some time ago and we're trying to patch this system up that is just not sustainable.

So we have to go and look at a new model, I suppose, of indemnity cover that actually is realistic as far as meeting the patient expectations and needs, that's realistic in providing an affordable and secure system into the future.  And the current system will not sustain - is not sustained in the long term.  It will tip over.

QUESTION:       You said last week that you were confident that the PM would get behind any?

GLASSON:        I'll tell you in an hour's time.  We're going to speak with Senator Patterson now and I'd like to think that she will sit down and listen to our concerns.  And I'd like to think that she can address them on behalf of the patients.  And I do not want to have somebody else telling me about the fact that what the government is doing is for doctors.  This is not about doctors.  This is about patients.

And what we're asking here is to make sure we provide on-going, affordable medical services to the public of Australia.  So let's concentrate on patients and forget about doctors because, if we get the patients right, the doctors automatically fall into line.

Thanks very much.

Ends