Government and Opposition run up the white flag on bulk billing and doctor shortages
AMA President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said today that both Health Minister, Senator Kay Patterson, and Shadow Health Minister, Stephen Smith, had run up the white flag by failing to respond to the two major medical service problems facing the Australian community - the rapid decline in bulk billing and the shortage of GPs in areas of health need.
Dr Phelps said that the eight State and Territory Health Ministers had it right by calling for an increase in Medicare rebates but Senator Patterson and Mr Smith have got it dangerously wrong.
"We now have a very scary health policy vacuum in this country," Dr Phelps said.
"With both sides backing an extension of failed incentive programs to attract GPs to areas of health need and areas where bulk billing is at its lowest, we have a bipartisan approach that will force people to pay more to visit their doctor.
"This is not a direction that will be welcomed by families, the poor, the aged or the chronically ill.
"The bulk billing decline is now unstoppable and this will be reflected in the June quarter figures due for release soon by the Health Insurance Commission.
"More and more doctors are being forced by the inadequate Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) rebates to desert bulk billing and charge co-payments to their patients.
"This is the only way these doctors can afford to stay in practice to look after patients in many communities, particularly in regional Australia and the outer suburbs of our major cities.
"It is the AMA's position that we must have a system that minimises out of pocket payments by the poorest and the sickest and needy families with young kids - the people who simply cannot afford to pay more to see their doctor.
"Australians don't want a health system where people with poor health will be deterred from seeing a doctor because of cost, but this is what Senator Patterson and Mr Smith are proposing.
"They are on a course for a two-tiered health system - one the 'haves' and another for the 'have-nots'. This is not the Australian way.
"Bulk billing has now become a contract between the Government and patients. Both major parties have removed doctors from the equation."
Dr Phelps said GPs have had a gutful of targeted incentive payments and the red tape that goes with them.
"GPs want to practise medicine, not bureaucracy, and they will have to charge a fee that will enable them to afford to stay in practice. Bulk billing no longer provides that level of remuneration.
"There is no evidence that disease specific incentive item numbers or practice incentive payments have any effect on improving patient care. They do not attract doctors to regional areas and the outer suburbs in the numbers required and, if they do, the doctors do not stay and settle.
"Both Senator Patterson and Mr Smith have made the mistake of trying to deal with the bulk billing issue in isolation.
"They must understand that bulk billing, medical workforce numbers and distribution, and the cost burden on doctors through red tape and medical indemnity are all linked.
"The problems are not just about geography; they are about GP numbers and areas with large numbers of disadvantaged people.
"And the pressure on our public hospitals is not just about people seeking free medical services in emergency departments; it is also about a shortage of doctors in rural and outer urban areas working to capacity.
"The State Health Ministers have all identified the complexity of the problem and have suggested a solution - increase the Medicare rebate to realistically reflect the cost of providing medical services to the community.
"The community is calling out for leadership and vision on health policy at the Federal level.
"Unfortunately, in the last 24 hours all we have seen is a vacuum on health policy from both sides of politics," Dr Phelps said.
CONTACT: John Flannery (02) 6270 5477 / (0419) 494 761