Joe Hockey compares extra fee to see a doctor to the price of cigarettes and beer

STOP moaning about the extra $7 fee every time you see the doctor — it’s less than a handful of ciggies or a couple of beers, says Joe Hockey.

LESS than a week after being snapped puffing on a pre-Budget cigar, Joe Hockey has told Australians to stop worrying about a new GP fee because it’s cheaper than a pack of cigarettes.

“One of the things that quite astounds me is some people are screaming about the $7 co-payment,” the Treasurer told ABC Radio this morning.

“One packet of cigarettes cost $22. That gives you three visits to the doctor,” he claimed.

But that wasn’t Mr Hockey’s only comparison.

“You can spend just over $3 on a middy of beer, so that’s two middies of beer to go to the doctor.

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“Let’s have some perspective about the costs of taking care of our health,” he argued.

“Is a parent really going to deny their sick child a visit to the doctor which would be the equivalent payment of a couple of beers or one-third of a packet of cigarettes?”

The Abbott government is facing a battle to get its co-payment through the Senate, ahead of a planned start date of next July.

Already Labor, the Greens and the Palmer United Party have declared they won’t support the measure.

Relax ... Joe Hockey and Finance Minister Matthias Cormann having a smoke in Canberra before the Budget announcement. Picture: Channel 9

Five dollars from the additional fee will go towards a $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund and $2 into the pockets of doctors.

The co-payment would be capped at 10 services a year for concessional patients and children under 16.

Bill Shorten slammed the Treasurer for “casually dismissing” the increased cost of going to the doctor.

“Joe Hockey, just how out of touch are you with the real needs of ordinary Australians?” the Opposition Leader asked.

“Joe Hockey and the Abbott Government, you are out of touch with Australians if you think that repeated visits to the doctor with a new tax co-payment on going to the doctor, more expensive medicine, more expensive visits to the hospital, if you think that this is just a casual matter then this is very worrying for ordinary Australians,” Mr Shorten said.

“It confirms the people who wrote Tuesday night’s Budget have no clue about the real world in which the rest of us live.”

But Tony Abbott defended the decision to introduce a co-payment when asked about Mr Hockey’s comparison.

“I don’t for a moment lighten the difficulties that inevitability some people are going to face as a result of changes that have been made over the years,” the Prime Minister later told Sky News.

There has long been a co-payment for the PBS, he argued.

“Labor itself introduced a co-payment for doctor visits back in the 1990s.

“Smart frontbenchers, like the current Shadow Assistant Treasurer, think that a co-payment makes sense.

“In their hearts Labor members of Parliament know that this is actually an important economic reform.”

Mr Abbott insisted there would be a “safety net” for pensioners, with a 10-visits cap and families would be helped with the axing of the carbon tax.

Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen referred to Mr Hockey’s comments in Question Time.

“Isn’t it the case that it is the Australian people who are entitled to be astounded at this Government’s deceit and arrogance?” Mr Bowen asked the Treasurer.

Mr Hockey instead turned the tables on Labor, claiming the Medical Research Future Fund can only be funded through a co-payment.

“We are doing this because only through cure and discovery are we going to ensure that the health system Australians want and deserve over the next 50 years is going to be delivered.

“Finding a cure for cancer, finding a cure for dementia, finding a cure for Alzheimer’s and the Labor Party does not support that,” he told Parliament.

Originally published as Joe Hockey compares extra fee to see a doctor to the price of cigarettes and beer