MEDIA RELEASE

12 May 2022

Major parties devalue the health of Australians

The major parties have allowed Medicare to decay and with it the right of all Australians to high quality primary healthcare.

Australians have seen the value of Medicare rebates, designed to help meet their medical costs, vaporise in the face of rising medical costs as multiple governments over multiple years have neglected to fund the rebates adequately.

“Australians value their health, but apparently Governments do not”, said Dr John Deery, Chair of the Australian GP Alliance.

“Medical inflation since 2010 has risen by approximately 5% per year. Medicare rebates have increased by approximately 0.5% per year over the same period”.

“Health is an investment in the nation. It employs many people and provides healthcare and wellness to keep people engaged gainfully and successfully, allowing them fully participate in life without fear for their health. Health is not a sinkhole for cash, but a wise investment.”

“The crisis that is developing in primary healthcare is directly attributable to underfunding of Medicare by both major parties over many years”, Dr Deery said.

“The announcement by both Labor and the LNP that they will reduce the cost of prescription medicines is great. However, there is little point in reducing the cost of medicines if appropriate diagnosis and ongoing support from your GP is not available – either because the rebates are inadequate, or because of the shortage of GPs.

“Without adequate funding of Medicare rebates, high quality primary healthcare will not be available to many Australians. This will delay diagnosis and treatment, transferring them into the hospital system at far higher cost, and with much poorer health outcomes”, he said.

For further comment please contact:

Dr John Deery – 0420 529 337 or Dr Jared Dart –  0403 274 209

Dr John Deery showing the impact of patient Medicare rebates reduction in his Canberra clinic.