(Transcript from World News Radio)
The Abbott government has abandoned its latest proposed change to the Medicare system.
A move to scrap the five-dollar optional co-payment for most bulk-billing patients was the third major withdrawl on Medicare policy since it was first introduced in last year's federal budget.
Kristina Kukolja reports.
It was first framed as a compulsory seven-dollar charge to be imposed on all patients, helping offset a reduction to doctors' rebates by five dollars.
The measure saw opposition from doctors, health groups, Labor, the Greens and cross-benchers.
There was a similar response when Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced a policy proposal that rebates paid to G-Ps for short visits be reduced by 20-dollars.
What remained was the decision to allow doctors the discretion to charge an optional five-dollar fee to bulk-billing patients, with the exception of children and concession-card holders.
But in a long-expected announcement, Health Minister Susan Ley says she's now hitting the "pause button" as she undertakes further consultations.
"Over the past six weeks I've been travelling the country, meeting with hundreds of local doctors on the ground as well as representatives from key medical consumer and community groups. I've taken on a broad, wide range of constructive views, ideas and concerns about the government's proposed measures and Medicare reform more broadly. A clear message has been that Labor's policy of doing nothing is not an option. I am, therefore, determined to continue consulting on short, medium and long-term policy options to ensure we can keep on supporting high quality care and treatment as efficiently as possible."
Susan Ley rejects criticism that the coalition is overstating the crisis in Medicare funding.
She says the government is committed to the long-term sustainability of the universal health care system.
"With more than seven out of ten consultations for non-concessional patients being bulk-billed we have to recognise that that level of government support for patients who can make a modest contribution of our own is not in the long-term acceptable. Behind every bulk-billed rebate there is a government payment, behind every government payment there is a set of national accounts that is telling us that we have a debt crisis left to us by Labor to solve."
The coalition will retain its policy of a proposed freeze on indexation for all Medicare G-P rebates until 2018 while policy consultations continue.
President of the Australian Medical Association, Brian Owler, has told Sky News that's a move that also needs to be reconsidered.
"The indexation freeze is something that will have significant consequences over the next four years, particularly for out of pocket expenses for patients and even rates of private health insurance. So, I think it's something we really need to look at and I think it's really important that we get on with some of the other work the minister hinted at there, which is actually looking at some other ways that we can restructure some of the schedule and make sure that we can get rid of the indexation freeze as soon as possible."
Professor Owler says changes to the Medicare co-payment have distracted from discussion on real health policy.
But he says he does appreciate the approach being taken by Susan Ley, who became Health Minister in the Cabinet reshuffle in December.
"There's no secret that there was no consultation before either the initial copayment or the second copayment proposal was put out there and I think Minister Ley has been a breath of fresh air in that respect, consulting not only with the AMA but other members of the medical profession as well. I think we're seeing the results of that type of style. And I think that is the lesson that hopefully has been learned that you actually do get better health policy when you talk, particularly, to doctors working at the coalface."
The federal government says it still committed to a $20-billion medical research "future fund", which would have been part-funded through planned Medicare changes.
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