The Doctors Reform Society today responded strongly to the Private Health Insurance advertisement that shows a family tired of waiting in a queue for treatment, taking up health insurance to get ahead.

"It is trying to teach the public that health care should be on the basis of money not medical need.  This is a cynical US-style message that should not be on Australian TV" said the NSW President of the Doctors Reform Society, Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans.

"The only true message in the ad is the ironic one that the Federal Government is letting the health care system go downhill" said Dr Chesterfield-Evans.

"The Federal Government has failed to ask the key question about health insurance which is, 'Would you rather pay $1 in tax for Medicare or $2 in private health insurance' " said Dr Chesterfield-Evans.

"But the public have already woken up.  The really rich self-insure and those who take out private health insurance find that it only covers a fraction of their expenses.  Private health insurance is a 'dead cat'.  People will only take out private insurance if they are sufficiently frightened by the government's attempts to destroy Medicare and feel that they must.  Despite the taxpayer subsidised gifts to the private health insurance industry (which amounts to a subsidy from the poor to the rich), 70% of the population want to stay with Medicare" said Dr Chesterfield-Evans.

"The Federal Government should acknowledge that Medicare is what the people actually want.  It will mean saying no to a whole lot of lobbyists in the interests of the Australian people, but the Government should do this.  They are there for the people, not their mates" said Dr Chesterfield-Evans.

23 February, 1998

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