"News that the sickest patients commonly spend $750 out of their own pockets for health care each year comes as no surprise to doctors" said Dr Tim Woodruff, National President of the Doctors Reform Society. " The Government wants people to pay up front or suffer".

"We have seen the number of general practitioners who bulk bill fall ever since the Howard Government came to office", said Dr Woodruff. "That fall is getting faster as doctors become more and more disenchanted with the Government as it pretends to support Medicare and then makes it harder for doctors to run their practices, fumbles the medical indemnity crisis, and tries to increase copayments for drugs."

"The Government wants bulk billing and Medicare to whither on the vine, said Dr Woodruff, "to fade away slowly so that only the well off can afford good health care and the rest can put up with an inadequate safety net."

"Patients are putting off seeing their doctor because of costs, and ending up sicker and going to the overcrowded public hospital emergency departments, or, in the country, simply not going because the doctors have left".

"That means patients are not getting treated properly or simply not going for treatment. Many will suffer. Some will die. And the best the Health Minister can come up with is `We need to talk about how we achieve a reasonable payment for doctors'".

"It's time for action," said Dr Woodruff. "The Government has had six years of falling bulk billing rates. They shouldn't need to talk. They need to act to save lives."

31 August 2002

Dr Tim Woodruff
President, DRS

Dr Con Costa
Vice President

Dr Peter Davoren
Vice President

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