This will be just the beginning of the end for Medicare......
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbotts-chief-business-adviser-maurice...
Interviewed on ABC radio on Wednesday, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said by introducing the fee the Coalition was ''undermining the universal nature of our Medicare system’’, while Consumers Health Forum chief executive Adam Stankevicius accused the government of seeking to shift costs on to the states.
''In the absence of any evidence which supports the government's assertion that a co-payment will reduce alleged over servicing or unnecessary GP visits, we are only left to guess about what the true motivation for its introduction may be: cost shifting to the states or revenue raising," Mr Stankevicius said.
Australian Medical Association vice-president Geoffrey Dobb also criticised the idea, expressing concern it might deter patients from seeing the doctor when they needed to, leading them to seek treatment in hospital, either in the first instance or when their condition worsened.
“It’s unlikely to save very much money from the health budget and may even result in an increase in costs if care is transferred to the hospital sector,” Professor Dobb said.
