Proposed GP co-payment would add $2 billion to Australia's health bill, modelling shows

Date
    February 23, 2014


A proposed GP co-payment could add an extraordinary $2 billion to state and federal government health bills.

The South Australian Health Department has estimated that a proposal to force patients to pay a $6 ''co-payment'' for a GP visit would lead to about 4 per cent of people bypassing their GP and instead attending hospital emergency departments to seek help for minor health complaints. The modelling showed that this would double the number of people presenting at hospital emergency departments for minor ailments, tripling waiting times and costing an extra $145.22 million.      

The increased costs to the South Australian health system extrapolated across the country would add $1.99 billion to the nation's health bill.

The Greens and Labor leapt on the figures. ''They demonstrate that this proposal is going to greatly increase total health costs, rather than save the Commonwealth money,'' Greens health spokesman Richard Di Natale said.      


Labor health spokeswoman Catherine King said the modelling showed the co-payment proposal should be ''knocked on the head''.      

The co-payment suggestion came from Terry Barnes, a former adviser to Prime Minister Tony Abbott who wrote a submission to the federal government's Commission of Audit for the Australian Centre for Health Research.

In the paper, Mr Barnes wrote that the government could save $750 million over four years by forcing patients who are bulk-billed to pay $6 to visit their GP.

Mr Barnes told a parliamentary committee last week there was ''at least anecdotal evidence'' GPs were being ''overused'' by patients.

He calculated there would be a 3 per cent reduction in the number of people seeing their GPs if a co-payment was introduced, but acknowledged it was ''very hard to make assumptions. There has been speculation and some analysis, but there is no definitive work on it. I think it is educated guesswork.''

The co-payment idea has found favour with many in the government.         

On Thursday, Health Minister Peter Dutton opened the door to the introduction of a co-payment, telling the ABC: ''I want to make sure that, for argument's sake, we have a discussion about you or me on reasonable incomes, whether we should expect to pay nothing when we go to see the doctor, when we go to have a blood test - should we expect to pay nothing as a co-contribution and other taxpayers to pick up that bill?''

Doctors and health groups have criticised the idea, saying patients will try to avoid the fee by using hospital emergency departments instead.

Yesterday Mr Dutton said "the Australian government hasn't propsed a co-payment, it is a suggestion from a think tank, which the South Australian Labor government has clearly wasted taxpayer on modelling."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/proposed-gp-copayment-would-add-2-billion-to-australias-health-bill-modelling-shows-20140222-3396q.html#ixzz2u5CmpPwh

I agree that the co-payment model is a bad idea & I intend to write my MP to that effect.
It would be an administrative nightmare for GPs and pathology services, especially as it would undoubtedly be the case that there would be exemptions such as for age pensioners & maybe all health care cardholders.

However, something must be done to address the underfunding of medicare now & into the future. Why do you think waiting lists are so bad and ERs are so full? It's money in one way or another.
Without devoting what remains of my mind to the problem for too long, I can only see that an increase to the medicare levy is the most desirable solution.

We are running a 1980s health system in 2014 and it's not up to the job without some major adjustment.
And btw, destroying the private health sector is NOT an answer.

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I believe anyone attending the emergency dept should be paying anyway...I do not see a thing wrong with people paying $20..

has anyone seen the cigarette butts outside hospitals???>...I am sorry but to hear people whinge and whine about $6 bucks.. makes me sick to my stomach...I bet half of them cant wait to rush down to the bottle dept ...

look at fast food business.. its a growing concern in this country obesity is a huge problem I bet if they up the price of fast food by $6  no one will say a bloody word..

cods wrote on Feb 23^rd, 2014 at 10:37am:


Yeah because as we all know - anyone that goes to a casualty is a smoker and obese right? Oh and a drinker!

Thing is if you have an emergency the chances of you having $20 on you isnt high. Most ppl dont stop to grab their wallet when an ambo takes them unconscious to a hospital.

SOB

Medicare on life support      

Thursday 20th February 2014

General Secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA), Brett Holmes, today urged all Australians who value our principle of universal health care to join nurses and midwives in defending Medicare as we know it.

“Australians treasure their Medicare cards. They are an invaluable safety net which guarantees that they and their families will never suffer for want of medical care when they need it just because they don’t have money in their pocket or expensive health insurance.

“The Minister for Health, Mr Dutton, last night as good as declared his intention to get rid of Medicare as we have come to know and rely on it,” Mr Holmes said.

“Minister Dutton told the ABC’s 7.30 Report last night that Australians need to pay more for their health care and spoke favourably about bringing in ‘co- payments’ to see a doctor.      

“Make no mistake, the day Australians have to stump up cash to take their sick child to the GP, that is the day Medicare becomes terminal. The Minister made it very clear that a user-pays system is the Abbott Government’s solution to every challenge our society might face.

“The Minister also confirmed in a speech in Brisbane yesterday his Government’s preference for a greater role of the private sector and private insurers in primary care, as the government wanted to ‘grow the opportunity for those Australians who can afford to do so to contribute to their own health care costs’.

“We already have a two-tier system of health for those who can afford private health insurance, which, we should not forget, receives a taxpayer subsidy of approximately $5 billion a year, but clearly the Government sees greater opportunity for insurance companies and corporations to make more money out of illness.” Mr Holmes said

The NSWNMA supports the international movement for the introduction of a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) in Australia and internationally. It will call on visiting G20 Finance Ministers meeting in Sydney on Sunday, including Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey, to adopt such a tax across the developed world.

“A tiny levy on market-based financial trading, currency speculation, derivatives and share trading would provide ample funds to maintain the services like health and aged care that Australians expect. And it would be paid only by a handful of the wealthiest among us, many of whom are currently able to minimise or avoid paying tax,” Mr Holmes said.

“Already 11 Eurozone nations, including France and Germany, have moved to introduce the levy and been given approval to do so by the EU Finance Ministers meeting in Brussels last year.

Experts have estimated that an FTT of only 0.05% in Australia from 2005 would have raised approximately $48 billion in just the three following years.

“Even that tiny impost would fill any budget shortfalls without extreme measures like destroying Medicare. If it’s good enough for Germany, why not us?” Mr Holmes said.

“Medicare is precious to Australians because it is fundamental to our sense of living in a fair and decent society. It means no one need live in fear of needing medical help and being unable to afford it or choosing between the doctor and the groceries.

“We pay for it through the levy on our income and our general taxes. It treats every Australian the same, no matter where they live or how much wealth they have. If we need more money to keep our nation healthy, then we say institute the FTT, that way those who really can afford to contribute more to our society will do so.

“We can all see a doctor or go to hospital whenever we need to, even if we are broke.

“So called ‘co-payments’ are just the thin edge of a wedge that has been sharpened for years by extreme ideologues within the Coalition parties. If there’s a payment, it’s not Medicare – full stop.      

“These people have always wanted to destroy Medicare and allow a US-style private profit system to take over in its place. This is the opening salvo to achieve that end,” Mr Holmes said.

“It’s up to Australians to make their voices heard before it’s too late and Medicare is dead and buried,” Mr Holmes said.

John S wrote on Feb 23^rd, 2014 at 6:43am:



Can't argue with that.....