Tony Abbott has introduced a new GP Tax through the back door. As of July 1 local GPs will be $8.43 worse off, forcing many doctors to charge patients who are currently bulk billed.
The freeze on Medicare rebates is the latest version of the GP Tax which has seen the Government attempt to slug patients with a $7 fee, a $5 fee a $20 fee and now an $8.43 fee.
The Abbott Government wants to make people in Western Sydney pay more to see a doctor – as the Health Minister recently made clear.
There are a lot of people who attend a doctor, who pay nothing who can afford to pay a bit more and that’s where we have to land in this discussion with the medical profession.
Health Minister Sussan Ley, 3AW, 3 March 2015
“This will discourage people from going to the doctor. By putting people off going to the doctor it means that sick people will just get sicker,” Mr Clare said. “My electorate, in Bankstown, has the second highest bulk billing rate in the country – 98.2% of visits to the doctor in my electorate are bulk billed. “This is the case right across Western Sydney. The top 10 bulk billing electorates across Australia are all in Western Sydney.
“The Abbott Government remains committed to destroying Medicare – It’s an attempt to end universal healthcare in Australia and create a two-tiered, American style health system,” Mr Clare said.
“Medicare was created by the Hawke Labor Government and it means that everyone gets the health care they need, not the health care they can afford.”
THURSDAY, 2 JULY 2015
MEDIA CONTACT: JAMIE WASSEF 02 9790 2466
