It seemed to take an inordinate amount of time for the backlash against the government's attack on bulk billing to get into gear, didn't it? (Well, a month anyway, even though I said at the time that the effect on GP practices was going to be big, and general patient bulk billing was surely going to go because of it.) I suppose Abbott and his advisers may have thought it was a good idea to announce it in the run up to Christmas, as people are too distracted getting ready for the holidays.
But you know a backlash against this government is strong when even Judith Sloan says she can't see the sense in the policy. (And even she notes that Abbott as health minister used to think that policies that increased bulk billing services to the public were a good idea.)
And remember the Adam Creighton tweet where he said doctors deserved a pay cut because the AMA had opposed the co-payment? Well, it looks like it won't be happening at all, given the Senate. So sorry, Adam: your desire to see incomes cut to everyone except you seems to have not panned out in this case.
There a few problems with Doctors and little sign of over-servicing. Even Judy Sloan recognises this.
ReplyDeleteThe problems with Medicare, and they are not particularly large, are in the hospital sector.
This government seems to love to put people off-side for no great benefit
Yes, Homer. I think Peter Martin yesterday was pointing out that the cost of hospitals is about 5 times bigger than the bill for Medicare, suggesting that you want less people in hospital if you want major savings. Reducing GP visits, if anything, may have the opposite effect.
ReplyDeleteIt's just a government that shoots from the hip, and doesn't have the sense to know who to go to for decent advice.
This was a disgusting dirty trick that they must have known would soon become obvious. So why did they bother doing it? Strange govt.
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