AMA Says Co-Payment Model is a Health Policy Vacuum

AMA President, A/Prof Brian Owler, said today that the Government’s hardline defence of its flawed and unfair co-payment model is creating a health policy vacuum.
A/Prof Owler said there is currently no intelligent debate about primary care, preventive health, health workforce, or resourcing public hospitals to deal with existing and future demand.
“The Government must drop its co-payment model for general practice, pathology, and diagnostic imaging, and broaden the health debate,” A/Prof Owler said. “We need to be talking about policies that provide better access to health services, not policies that will deter people from seeing their doctor.
“The Prime Minister said this morning that if the Senate blocks the Government’s current co-payment model, which hurts the most disadvantaged, he might have to consider a ‘Plan B’.
“The AMA, at the Prime Minister’s request, developed a co-payment model that is fair and equitable, and which protects the poorest, the elderly, the chronically ill, Indigenous Australians, and children under 16.
“Under the AMA plan, the co-payment would only be paid by those who can afford to pay. “We urge the Government to engage in an intelligent health debate on the AMA model,” A/Prof Owler said.
A/Prof Owler said the Australian health system is sustainable and not facing a ‘budget crisis’.
“The Health budget is 16.13 per cent of the total Commonwealth budget, which is down from 18.22 per cent in 2007-08,” A/Prof Owler said.
“General practice is the most cost effective part of the health system. Spending on general practice is just 7 per cent of total health spending, with the Commonwealth contributing 5.6 per cent of total health expenditure on general practice.
“Spending on general practice is not unsustainable. “We must avoid policies such as the Government’s co-payment which would steer people away from general practice to more expensive care in public hospitals.”