Medicare still under threat

The Abbott Government’s claim that its GP Tax is “dead, buried and cremated” has again been exposed as a lie with the CEO of Primary Health Care confirming the government’s four year freeze on doctor’s rebates will lead to a GP Tax by stealth.

This is a shared concern. Just last month, analysis in the Medical Journal of Australia showed that the freeze to indexation of Medicare benefits is likely to force many GPs who currently bulk-bill to resort to co-payments.

Whatever fancy name the Abbott Government comes up with – “co-payment”, “price signal”, “value signal” or “direct billing” – the end result is still the same: an attack on Medicare, an attack on patients and an attack on the health of all Australians.