Government Greed Or Dodgy Doctors?

[icyfroth]

Last year the Federal Government announced the establishment of a $3 billion Medical Research Future Fund to boost the availability and support for health researchers. It is a great measure and one that is needed but they were faced with the big question: Who was going to pay for it?

We already know Australia is struggling financially, so having $3 billion to put aside was a little odd. It was revealed that in order to fund this, the Australian government would be reducing the medicare rebate paid to doctors for each consultation by $5 and this money would be used for the fund. It makes sense, the medical community paying for a medical support system, but according to reports from the ABC, Australians doctors don’t believe this is fair.

The government gave doctors the option to reclaim this money from their patients and increasing consultation fees by $5 – if they really believed it was unfair to reduce their income by this much. In essence, it was a measure that was supposed to bypass the every day person and instead be a form of taxation investment on the wealthy operating in one central profession.

It has been reported that GP clinics are soon expected to display posters in their surgeries explaining to patients why they will have to pay more under the government’s changes to consultation rebates. This effectively suggests that doctors would rather the public pay this tax than themselves.

So who is being greedy here? Is it the government? Is it doctors? If it is going towards something that can help everyone in the long run, shouldn’t we be happy to contribute to it?

[go-tazz]

It will just mean that more patients/people will die here as the cost to go see a doctor will go up to $23 per visit

out of their own pocket,(that includes pensioners).

There are enough complaints now about the cost to see a doctor here and some now have their doctors in the

next town,(28 kms away) as they wont pay the cost.

Which will possibly be to late in some cases,

Others now delay seeing a doctor as they don't have the spare cash to pay them.

If you go to the hospital emergency and you doctor is from the other surgery it will cost you $140 to see a

doctor there,(there have been cases where they've been driven the 75 kms to  the bigger hospital that

bulk bills).

So yes,the doctors here are greedy and will pass on the cost and the government don't care what they

implement and are only concerned with how they can stay in power,(by implementing this they don't have to

find it in a  budget),

[***super_nova***]

20 years ago my doctor had a surgery in old shabby house, the carpet was threadbare, and every chair in the waiting room was different, with one receptionist/nurse between the 1/2 dozen doctors practising there .  Now she's got brand new consulting rooms, beautifully designed and with several nurses and receptionists.  I wonder how much of the fee goes to pay for the real estate.  I do not think GPs are overpaid.  They do work hard and are one of the most stressed group of people.  I think that putting the Medicare levy would have been the easier and cheapest way to get the money.  It could have been implemented with few strokes of the keyboard, while this co-payment is something that has to be administered each $5 separately.  Its clumsy inefficient way to do anything.

[bluecat*dancing]

Because Abbott could not get the co-payment through, he instead decreased the medicare rebate so that doctors will either have to lose money or pass it on to the patients. Don't blame the doctors for the government's under-handedness.

[gleee58]

Who wrote that?

It must be from the govt propaganda dept.  The gov is not taking $5 from the docs payments they are taking almost 2/3 from the base fee for a simple visit for starters.  

They also took millions from medical research before making this big promise to start a medical research fund sometime in the future.   

[debra9275]

its Govt greed - exactly what Blue said and I think it was done quietly just before Christmas. here's an article from the AMA

https://ama.com.au/article/medicare-funding-cuts-support-materials-practices

2014 was a turbulent year for the future of Medicare.  The Government has pursued an agenda of fiscal policy – not health policy – to strip $3.5 billion out of Medicare and shift these costs on to patients.

Last year the Federal Government announced the establishment of a $3 billion Medical Research Future Fund to boost the availability and support for health researchers. It is a great measure and one that is needed but they were faced with the big question: Who was going to pay for it?

who is going to work in this future research centre, when they've made cuts to science and the CSIRO.?  It doesn't make any sense