Speaking to the Final Report by the Select Committee on Health, Senator Deborah O’Neill slammed the Federal Government’s decision to cut Medicare to the effect of $17.6 billion in NSW alone.
“The Turnbull Government has backed in savage cuts introduced by the Abbott Government in its unpopular 2014-15 budget, causing the New South Wales health system to feel the pinch of Liberal privatisation,” Sen O’Neill said. “On Tuesday, October 11, the government voted against a bill that would guarantee Medicare would be kept in public hands as a universal health insurance scheme for all Australians; a guarantee to protect bulk billing so that every Australian can see their doctor when they need to and not only when they can afford to.
Sen O’Neill called for the Prime Minister, Mr Malcolm Turnbull to: “Reverse his harmful cuts to Medicare by unfreezing the indexation of the Medicare Benefi ts Schedule; reverse his cuts to pathology that will mean Australians with cancer will pay more for blood tests; to reverse his cuts to breast screening, MRIs, X-rays and other diagnostic imaging which will mean Australians will pay more for vital scans; to abandon his plans to make all Australians, even pensioners, pay more for vital medicines; and to develop a long-term agreement to properly fund our public hospitals so Australians don’t languish in our emergency departments or on long waiting lists for important surgery.”
The $17.6 billion Medicare cut for NSW was “the equivalent to closing fi ve and a half hospitals the size of Westmead Hospital,” according to Professor Bradley Frankum, Vice President of the NSW Branch of the Australian Medical Association. The Final Report of the Senate Select Committee on Health found the cuts would “make it impossible for NSW hospitals to keep up with population growth and demand for services”. Mr Jeff Andrew, Vice President of the Australian Paramedics Association, said the cuts have had a signifi cant impact on ambulance waiting times. At the Gosford Select Committee on Health hearing, Mr Andrew said a two-hour ramp at peak periods was not unusual, and that a recent experience of a six hour ‘ramp’ would become common. Mr Andrew said it was “fair to say” the whole system was “overwhelmed”.
Sen O’Neill said, “The evidence presented and documented in the report only confi rms what we all know. She said the community “wont cop” proposals to place public hospitals, including Wyong Hospital, in private hands. “The Turnbull government has revealed a chilling agenda of Medicare and hospitals cuts and slashes in parliament. “To add insult to injury, The Turnbull government has also confi rmed it is set to cut the bulk billing incentive on January 1, 2018, making patients pay another $30 per test.”
Media release, Oct 13, 2016 Rhys Zorro, offi ce of Senator Deborah O’Neill