EMBARRASING bloopers by Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey have revealed they don’t understand who will be forced to pay their controversial new $7 GP fee.
And their mistakes have undermined the government’s attempt to sell a tough budget to angry voters.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Melbourne radio listeners yesterday an average person would only have to pay the $7 GP fee ten times and then they would be bulk billed.
In fact the government has put no limit on the number of times an ordinary worker will pay the $7 charge, however, there is a ten visit safety net just for pensioners and children.
Radio 3AW host Neil Mitchell asked the Prime Minister yesterday: “If I am the average person going along to the doctor what is the safety net on the $7 co-payment?”
The Prime Minister replied :”Well, it is 10 visits and then the standard bulk-billing arrangements will apply.”
Mr Abbott’s office ammended his statement late yesterday. “The safety net of ten visits applies to concession card holders and people aged under 16”, it said.
The Australian Medical Association accused Treasurer Joe Hockey of also getting it wrong when he says the chronically ill won’t be hit by the $7 GP fee.
The Treasurer told Korey Gunnis who suffers from eight chronic illnesses on Monday: “You wouldn’t be hit by the so-called Medicare co-payment. You wouldn’t be affected.”
Mr Hockey, on the ABC’s Q&A program, went on to say: “No, you wouldn’t, because you’d be on a care plan with your doctor. Obviously you’ve got a number of chronic diseases. In that situation you are not affected by the co-payment,”
While it is true that Medicare’s chronic disease management item will be exempt from the $7 GP fee, this is only for one doctors visit a year where the GP plans the patients care for their chronic illnesses.
Australian Medical Association GP spokesman Dr Brian Morton says every other visit the patient with a chronic illness makes to the GP or medical test that is ordered would be hit by a $7 GP fee.
“He either doesn’t understand or is misusing the statistic or is lying,” Dr Morton told News Corporation.
“The chronic disease management items are one off, they are not for treatment,” he said.
A diabetic patient would have to see their GP every three months and pay the $7 fee and regular tests of their blood sugar levels and kidney function would also attract a $7 charge, Dr Morton said.
A spokeswoman for Mr Hockey said yesterday “his comments stand”.
When asked whether the government would be introducing new chronic disease treatment items exempt from the $7 charge she said “the legislation was still being drafted…I can’t give any detail”.
The budget makes no provision for such a chronic disease item nor does it provide any funding for it.
In further confusing signals from the government, Liberal National Party backbencher Steve Ciobo also told ABC radio listeners ‘if they have a chronic disease they are exempt from making the co-payment”.
A spokesman for Health Minister Peter Dutton conceded the chronically ill could face the $7 GP fee.
“They could, it’s up to the doctor,” he said.
And he confirmed the exemption for chronic disease applied only to the preparation of a GP management plan or the preparation of a team care arrangement.
Opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King described Mr Ciobo’s and Mr Hockey’s claims on the copayment and chronic illness as a “lie”.
“This is a blatant lie. If you have a chronic disease you are not exempt from the this cruel GP tax,” Shadow Minister for Health Catherine King said.
The Australian Medical Association says it will be asking Health Minister Mr Peter Dutton to modify the $7 GP fee when it meets him on Friday at its annual conference.
AMA president Dr Steve Hambleton said the government needed to look at extending the 10 visit safety net to low income people with a chronic illness, and end of life care.
Vaccinations should not attract the $7 fee, he said.
