DOCTORS REFORM SOCIETY

"The results of the AMAs health report card are entirely predictable" said Dr Con Costa, Vice President, Doctors Reform Society”. The AMA has been given a direct pipeline to the Treasury with the Howard Governments Health Package including:

The Medicare Safety Net, which encourages specialists to increase their fees. On top of that it is already being openly rorted by many of the specialists at the taxpayer’s expense.

A policy of importing doctors rather than training our own, has given the AMA a virtual monopoly enabling them to charge huge fees while doing nothing to encourage bulk billing.

Doctors are again “kings” of the waiting room, because of reduced levels of bulk billing. Patients no longer feel equal in the doctors’ waiting room, especially if there are “full fee” paying patients in attendance.

Specialists are top of the medical pyramid, while “dumbing down” Australia's GPs. Most house bound patients now cannot get their GP to visit. Nursing home elderly patients are reduced to beggar status and house calls are down to 10% of 10 years ago.

"Perhaps the fact that the private doctors’ incomes are the big winners from the federal governments pre election health promises has blinded them to the real suffering and the real needs of their patients" said Dr Costa.

“Maybe it is the glare from their new gold plated Mercedes that is blinding them to the need to restore some credibility to health care for the elderly in this country"

"One would have to be suspicious that the huge unconditional salary increases to private GPs through the increased rebates without any expectation to bulk bill, and the wonderful uncontrolled safety net which allows well paid specialists to make even more money, have together successfully “bought” the AMA and put them firmly in support of the Coalition health package," said Dr Costa.

Dr Tim Woodruff

President

Doctors Reform Society

Dr Con Costa

Vice President

Doctors Reform Society

For further information please contact the Doctors Reform Society during business hours