AMA submission on Out-of-pocket costs in Australian healthcare

The AMA has made two submissions to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee's inquiry into out-of-pocket costs in Australian healthcare.  Out of pocket costs are a feature of the Australian health financing system.  They are not growing at a faster rate than other health costs.  The AMA recognises that at the individual level out of pocket costs can be of concern to health care consumers and supports informed financial consent by medical practitioners to minimise such issues.  The AMA does not support the Government’s model of co-payments as proposed in the 2014-15 Budget.