Health: Labor announces $1 billion for hospitals
by defendmedicare.info
Wednesday September 22, 2004 at 06:44 PM
The Labor Party announced in Brisbane a $1 billion package for hospitals. Some doctors, consumers and the ALP continue to attack the Medicare Safety net as inequitable based on the figures provided by Health Minister, Tony Abbott. Electors continue to quiz candidates on Medicare. Abbott attempted to pass the buck on health to the States. Dr Peter Hunter from the Australian Society for Geriatric Medicine has warned against private health insurance for elderly patients, with neither the Coalition or Labor Party committed to ending the private health insurance rebate rort.
click to enlarge
medicare_in_wills040915.jpg, image/jpeg, 591x316
Labor announces $1 billion for hospitals
Mark Latham and Shadow Health Minister Julia Guillard announced in Brisbane Labor's $1 billion hospital bonus (SMH 22/09/04). Labor also offered a Victorian hospital $8m cancer centre (ABC 22/09/04). Howard's immediate response was to deny that health policy was key to votes (ABC 22/09/04).
Democrats pledge mental health boost
Democrats Health spokesperson, Lyn Allison, said the mentally ill are the invisible people of the Federal Election and called for a doubling of funding for mental health (News 21/9/04).
Medicare Saftey Net inequitable, say doctors, consumers and ALP
In reply to claims that Medicare favours Liberal electorates (Age 17/09/04) and the Rich are cashing in on safety net (SMH 17/09/04) Health Minister Tony Abbott insisted the Safety net is not inequitable (SMH 21/09/04). Julia Guillard, the shadow Health Minister, claimed Medicare safety net favours rich (ABC AM 21/09/04) and Abbott's Safety Net Numbers Reveal the Great Liberal Pork Barrel (Guillard 21/09/04).
In Julia Guillard's media release she claimed:
- John Howard's blue ribbon Liberal seat of Bennelong received more Medicare safety net payments than the entire state of Tasmania
- Brendan Nelson's blue ribbon Liberal seat of Bradfield received more payments than the entire state of South Australia
- The 11 seats held by Liberal Party Cabinet Ministers received more safety net payments than the total amount received by Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania.
President of the Doctors Reform Society, Tim Woodruff, commented:
"Doctors are faced daily with patients who simply cannot afford to access more expensive parts of the health system,This is a gross maldistribution of health care in favour of the well-off who tend to be healthier anyway."
The Australian Consumer Association's health policy spokeswoman, Nicola Ballenden, challenged the Government's claims of an equitable system saying: "It is about giving money to the people who already have the money to pay for these services,"
Electors quiz candidates on Medicare
In Adelaide the Medicare Alliance challenges election candidates, while in Melbourne Defend and Extend Medicare have organised public meetings on Medicare in Seaford, Wills and Deakin electorates.
Abbott passes the buck on health to the States
In a typical political manouver, Health Minister Tony Abbott attempted to pass the buck for the poor state of public hospitals by calling for the states to Spend GST money on health (Age 19/09/04). In another desperate measure the Prime Minister guarantees continuing bulk-billing incentives (ABC 19/9/04)
Private health insurance rebates
Dr Peter Hunter from the Australian Society for Geriatric Medicine has warned against private health insurance for elderly patients (ABC Radio 17/9/04). This is not the first call that Health care fails the elderly (GLW 28/01/04). Doctor Hunter told a reporter from ABC radio:
Private hospitals are little more than a business. They're not there to actually do the right things by people necessarily. They're there to get a return on their investment. Now, older people, if they're complex, have multiple medical problems – these people aren't going to give private hospitals a return on their investment.
This is something that I often tell to older patients who say, well should I keep my private insurance? Now, I will quite in all honesty say no, give up your private health insurance, it is a waste of money.
Contributors to Private Health Insurance Funds recieve a 30% rebate from the Commonwealth Government now totalling $2.5 billion per year. In August the Government offered to older private health fund contibutors an additional $200 rebate to win aged vote (Australian 23/08/04) but the Health insurance rebate hit a snag (Age 23/08/04). This additional rebate has been budgeted at nearly half a billion dollars over four years. Health Groups have criticised higher private health rebates (SBS 23/08/04).
In February Health Insurance slug adds $150 to family's yearly health bill (SMH 28/2/04). Out in the electorate there is a lot of Health insurance pain (Herald Sun 19/02/04) with Young dumping health cover (Courier Mail 17/02/04). There are Fears over rising health cover costs (Age 5/02/04) as Abbott defends Private Health Insurance (SBS 5/02/04). The Health funds defended premiums rise (Age 13/1/04).
It has been known for some time that Health rebate 'hurts public system' (ABC 17/02/04) with a report finding that the Health rebate sucks resources from public sector (SMH 17/02/04). Kenneth Davidson, writing in the Age, reckons that Private health insurers are on shaky ground (Age 19/02/04).
www.defendmedicare.info
| 
