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Summer 2003

White Anted

Medicare is being white anted, and HACSU members and other Australians are rallying to protect the great Australian institution.

The Federal Government's recently released MedicarePlus package makes Medicare a two-tier system, separating out the general public from those able to afford high priced, full cover private health insurance.

MedicarePlus has been tipped to at best hold bulk billing rates as is (a 14 year low), or more likely result in further decline.

According to HACSU State Secretary, Chris Brown, Medicare has deteriorated to the point where the "Defend Medicare Campaign" was now the top priority for HACSU.

"There is nothing more important to HACSU members than Medicare," Chris Brown said. "It's about members health and their jobs."

"Medicare is the centrepiece of our health system. It is important to members in terms of both their own personal health care, and the funding of our health care system around which thousands of members jobs are based."

"The Federal Government is white-anting Medicare, and at the same time squeezing funding on the public hospital system."

"We are at the point where if the current Federal Government proposals get through the national parliament, there will be a "safety net" Medicare system only.

"It will effectively be a two-tiered health care system, where the wealthy are able to afford to pay for top class medical care, and the bulk of ordinary Australians will only get base-line care and at an increased cost."

"We are moving with increasing speed towards an Americanised private health care system, a system which in the US has left nearly 44 million Americans with no automatic health care coverage."

HACSU members and other Australians are rallying around the country, and opinion polls now place health as by far and away the top priority issue for Australians.

Chris Brown said there were now major concerns about the effect of the Federal Government-funded private health insurance rebate, and how this money was being spent.

"You have to question it," Chris Brown said. "It's clear it's not working, that it is driven by John Howard's ideology rather than practical, outcome- based public health policy."

"We're currently spending $2.2 billion of public money on the rebate.

The Federal Government argues the public pays the rebate to relieve pressure on the public health system."

"But the most recent comprehensive study found that the reduction in public patient outlays was about $700 million a year from spending $2.2 billion."

"You have to ask why it wouldn't be better to put that $2.2 billion straight into public health and get the full bang for the buck, rather than some ideological value with reduced services."

"On top of that, 40% of the rebate goes to 20% of the highest income earners."

"It's a policy that advantages the well off and penalises low income earners, often the people with most health needs."

"It's not working on either an economic or health outcomes basis."

Chris Brown also said that the money was available to fix the problems with the Medicare system.

"With a budget surplus of $7.5 billion the Federal Government can obviously afford to adequately fund health and aged care services without putting itself in the red. Instead of saving money for pork barreling in marginal electorates at the next election they should be spending it on the health of this country now."

Federal Shadow Health Minister, Julia Gillard, said the Medicare debate was about basic Australian values.

"... the debate about health in this country has been and will always be a debate about values," Julia Gillard said.

"Medicare, which sits at the heart of the system - is a great Australian institution and an expression of basic Australian values - the most important of which is that 'we believe in looking after each other'.

"Cultural values like the 'fair go' and 'looking after each other' aren't just extras you can tack on our government, our economy or our community."