Medicare changes set for election battleground, as ACTU pledges campaign
Date
February 16, 2016
Canberra Times
Tax changes will cost the Government money and only benefit the wealthy, according to new research.
The ACTU has revealed it will run a serious marginal seat campaign beginning immediately, involving doorknocking and a targeted advertising and social media blitz with the twin aims of defeating government moves to privatise Medicare payments and of retaining bulk billing incentives for diagnostic services.
The campaign is a sign of the ACTU's intention to play a strong grassroots role in the forthcoming federal election, with unions hoping to use their still extensive membership reach to "warn" voters about the Coalition's plans for trimming Medicare.
Supporters will be sent out to doornock voters in a series of marginal seats in the major swing areas of Melbourne and Sydney.
Fuelling the campaign is privately commissioned ReachTEL polling that shows voters in 10 government-held marginal electorates across Victoria and Queensland are strongly opposed to the recently announced changes to cut the diagnostic subsidies to pathology companies.
Health Minister Sussan Ley indicated last month that the diagnostic changes would save the government $650 million over four years.
A survey of 2497 voters in four crucial seats in Victoria - Corangamite, La Trobe, Deakin, and Dunkley - found 69.7 per cent of voters think the cut to diagnostic incentive payments for services such as pap-smears, X-rays, and blood tests, is a bad idea. Another 21.5 per cent supported the cuts, with 8.8 per cent saying they were not sure.
In Queensland, the same question was asked of 3561 voters in the seats of Brisbane, Bonner, Petrie, Longman, Forde, and Dickson. There the numbers were almost identical with 69.9 per cent opposed to the change, and 21.9 per cent in support. Just over 8 per cent were undecided.
"These are important, sometimes life-saving medical tests, that we all need, often regularly, during our life time and any attempt to make it harder for Australian people to access them is not only irresponsible, it's also potentially dangerous," said ACTU President Ged Kearney.
"We are fighting the Americanisation of our health system and will be holding community protests around the nation. We are hearing every day from members of the community just how angry they are at any attempt by government to take us down the US-style path of health care.
"Selling-off the Medicare claims and payments system is the thin edge of the wedge, opening the door to privitisation of our public health system across the board.
"Australians do not want an American-style health system. The Turnbull government is out-of-step with Australian people if it moves to privatise the Medicare payment system," Ms Kearney said.
The ACTU argues that merely by entertaining the idea, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had shown "he is prepared to favour big corporations over the health of hard-working Australians".
The campaign will use direct voter contact, local broadcasting, and online social media campaigning techniques to drive its message into the community.
The federal government has rejected the charge it was undermining Medicare either through the withdrawal of the diagnostic payments - which it says go to large medical companies rather than patients in any event - or through the outsourcing of the Medicare payments system.
However there are fears diabetics could be among the worst hit if costs for tests are passed on to them as expected.
The fear is the extra impost could discourage consultations, increasing the risk of complications including circulation problems and kidney disease.
Pap-smears are another area of concern if women delay or decide against the tests. The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia has said pap smears could cost women at least $30 upfront if the cuts go ahead, but as Fairfax Media reported on the weekend, a spokesman for Ms Ley said patients would be "rightly suspicious" of providers claiming they will charge patients $30 to make up the losses from incentive payments of just $3.40.
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