"Democrats urged to remember principles"

 

John Howard wants to turn Medicare into a so-called safety net, and then to tack another safety net on. The Greens and the ALP have demanded an inquiry based on their commitment to strengthening Medicare, not as a safety net but as a system of universal access to quality health care. The Democrats are still talking compromise.

 

Will they stand firm on the principles underlying their own policy or will they roll over and accept an improved but still very saggy safety net full of holes?

 

We call on the Democrats to show commitment to their principles, to reject the Government's plan to take us down the US road where 40 million fall between their safety net and affordable care, where the most common cause of personal bankruptcy is failure to pay medical bills.

 

 

Published in The Sydney Morning Herald

Sat 29 Nov 2003

Tim Woodruff