DOCTORS REFORM SOCIETY

Media Release

Tuesday 22 July 2003

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Doctors Warn Death of Medicare Will Mean Death of Patients

 

The Doctors Reform Society will today outline to the Senate Inquiry into Medicare how the changes in the Government’s so called reform package `A Fairer Medicare’, are about putting patients’ health at risk as Medicare is murdered and replaced by a US style user pays system.

 

“When patients don’t go to their doctor because it costs too much, some will die,” said Dr Tim Woodruff, President of the Doctors Reform Society. “When patients delay their visit because it costs too much, some will die. Many will suffer needlessly. When patients in nursing homes cannot get a doctor to visit and instead are sent to hospital, many will suffer unnecessarily.” 

 

“John Howard has presided over the biggest drop in bulk billing rates since Medicare began, ” said Dr Woodruff. “But even he refuses to say that his package will increase the bulk billing rate,” said Dr Woodruff. “Instead, his intention is to provide a so called safety net for the needy and desperate, and encourage GPs to charge non card holders a hefty copayment”.

 

“But we have seen how this so called safety net works, it’s `go to the back of the queue’,” said Dr Woodruff. “And for those in a nursing home there is often no queue, so it’s `find an ambulance to hospital, even though you don’t need a hospital’”.

 

“And those copayments of $10 or $20 will gradually increase to $30 or $40 or real US style prices of $150 just for a simple GP visit. How can that be called `A Fairer Medicare’ package?”, asked Dr Woodruff.

 

“The Senate today is discussing the Murder of Medicare, and all those Australians who know that Medicare has been a blessing for them over 20 years need to be `alert and alarmed’ as this Government prepares to bury it.”

 

 

 

Dr Woodruff and Dr Costa will be appearing before the inquiry in Sydney at 1.30 pm

A Save Medicare rally will be held at Parliament House Sydney at 12.30 pm