By political reporters Susan McDonald, Julie Doyle, staff
Thursday 15 January 2015
Video: Sussan Ley announces the scrapping of Medicare rebate changes (ABC News)
Photo: Sussan Ley says the Government remains committed to a GP co-payment. (ABC News: Giulio Saggin, file photo)
The Federal Government has dumped plans to cut the rebate for short GP visits by $20, amid a fierce political backlash and stiff opposition from doctors.
The rebate for GP consultations less than 10 minutes was due to be cut from next Monday.
However, the move was set to be struck down by the Senate.
Today new Health Minister Sussan Ley announced the changes would not go ahead and had been "taken off the table".
"I have become aware of significant concerns and unintended consequences of changes to Medicare rebates scheduled to begin on Monday," she told reporters in Melbourne.
"I am deeply concerned by the misinformation that is causing confusion for patients and confusion for doctors.
"As a result, I'm announcing today that the changes to level A and B Medicare consultation items will not commence on Monday as planned.
"The Government is taking them off the table."
The minister said she would now undertake "wide-ranging" consultation with doctors and the community across the country to come with "sensible options" for Medicare reform.
But she said the Government remained committed to a GP co-payment as a price signal in the health system.
"It remains critical that we implement changes to ensure quality care for Australians and a secure future for Medicare," Ms Ley said.
The changes would have meant doctors no longer received a $37.05 rebate for Level A consultations, but instead received only $16.95 – a cut of $20.10.
This amount would have been further reduced (to $11.95) from July 1 when cuts to rebates for longer consultations would have also kicked in.
The Government planned to leave it to individual doctors as to whether they passed on the shortfall to patients.
Minister defended plan earlier this morning
Opposition frontbencher Brendan O'Connor said the Government had got the message from Australians, but Labor is calling for the GP co-payment to be scrapped as well.
"Whilst the new minister has been forced to go out today to backflip on a policy that was being supported only yesterday by the Prime Minister, the Government still supports taxing families when they visit the doctor," Mr O'Connor said.
The back down came as a surprise, with Small Business Minister Bruce Billson saying this morning the Government remained committed to the change.
"Everywhere you turn, professionals, policy advisors, they're all saying something needs to be done about six-minute medicine, about this sort of carousel, this turnstile of treatment and a move to more ongoing and substantial consultations. That's exactly what our proposal provides for," Mr Billson said.
The rebate changes were roundly criticised and today the Queensland Premier Campbell Newman, who is facing an election this month, voiced his opposition.
Mr Newman warned the move would drive more patients to emergency departments.
"We have made great progress in terms of the way our emergency departments are operating and we have expressed concerns about this driving people to emergency departments – so we don't support it and we have made that point to our federal counterparts," Mr Newman said.
It became clear this morning that Labor and the Greens had the numbers in the Senate to pass a disallowance motion, with the Palmer United Party declaring it would support the motion.
Palmer United Party Senate leader Glenn Lazarus labelled the Government "out of touch" with Australians for putting forward the regulation.
"The Abbott Government has done nothing but cut, slash and burn since forming Government in 2013. Their consistent stream of bad news and nasty policies has lowered morale across Australia."
AMA president welcomes back down
Australian Medical Association (AMA) president Brian Owler welcomed the decision to dump the changes.
"I'm pleased for grassroots GPs and particularly for their patients because they were the ones that were going to bear the brunt of these changes and I think clearly common sense has prevailed," he told the ABC.
"I'm very pleased [the government] is not going ahead with these level A and B rebate changes on Monday.
"What we will be doing is going through with the Minister a process of consultation – the process which should have happened previously – to come up with ways that we can actually enhance general practice and make our healthcare system more sustainable in the future."
Professor Owler said he was pleased the prospect of a Senate showdown over the changes had been avoided.
"I think at the end of the day the fact it was going to go through this parliamentary process of disallowance of the new regulations would have been an awful thing to go through for the GPs and patients," he said.
"I think common sense has prevailed and the Minister and PM have ended the uncertainty about these changes and now are going to embark on the process of consultation that the AMA has requested all along they do."
Health policy now a 'chaotic shambles'
Greens senator Richard Di Natale said the rebate change should never have been proposed in the first place.
"You have to wonder about how we've actually got to this point," he said.
"You have to wonder about the fact we were promised this sort of calm, methodical, grown-up government.
"And yet when it comes to health policy it's just one shambles, followed by another shambles, it's just chaos."
Independent senator Nick Xenophon said he hoped the Government would work more closely with doctors now.
Senator Xenophon had vowed to block the move when it came before the Senate.
He described the initial decision to cut the rebate as "lousy".
"This is a case where the Government hasn't thought this through," he said.
"They have treated doctors as an enemy rather than a friend where they can work together with them to get a better health outcome and savings to taxpayers."
