Wooldridge should substantiate '$100,000 GP pay rise' claim
AMA President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said today that Health Minister, Dr Wooldridge, has no credibility when commenting on declining bulk billing rates in Australia because he continues to cite the fanciful notion that the AMA is pushing for a 'hundred thousand dollar pay rise per doctor' .
Dr Phelps said the claim is an insult to all GPs and is an obvious ploy to deflect attention from the Government's failure to find a lasting solution to ever increasing gap payments for patients, particularly the elderly, disadvantaged and chronically ill.
"Rather than acknowledge that many doctors are doing it tough, the Minister thinks it's okay to denigrate the important community service provided by GPs right around the country.
"Where GPs charge a higher consultation fee, they usually ensure that patients who cannot afford it - pensioners, big families, the poor and needy and the chronically ill - are looked after by reducing their fees considerably.
"These patients would be more disadvantaged if their trusted doctors are forced out of their neighbourhoods and communities - something that is already happening.
"The costs of general practice are going through the roof and the Minister thinks a one-dollar increase in the Medicare rebate is going to have GPs dancing in the streets. Well, it isn't.
"The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) needs to be seriously addressed if health care in Australia is to remain affordable and if GPs are to remain in the communities where they are most needed - in the suburbs and in the country towns.
"Attacking and insulting doctors and manipulating statistics won't help the problem.
"Consulting doctors and involving the community in the debate on the future of Medicare will help fix the problem.
"It's time for solutions, not misleading statistics," Dr Phelps said.
Dr Phelps said the Minister is choosing to ignore the fact that the Relative Value Study - which led to the recommended rate of at least $45-$50 for a standard GP consultation - was a joint exercise by the Government and the AMA over more than six years.
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Sarah Crichton (02) 6270 5472 / (0419) 440 076