Check-ups 'at mercy of rising power bills'

A CARBON tax could force the sick and underprivileged to stop taking their medicines and abandon health check-ups, top physicians warn.

A CARBON tax could force the sick and underprivileged to stop taking their medicines and abandon health check-ups as they struggle to pay higher power bills, the body representing the nation's 13,500 physicians has warned.

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians says one of the results of the Gillard government's proposed carbon tax could be an increase in chronic illness rates.

"The government needs to acknowledge that the rising prices and higher cost of living are known to lead to reduced health spending, with families cutting back on healthy food and medicine as part of their discretionary response," RACP president John Kolbe said.

While backing a concerted effort to combat climate change, he said the government needed to consult widely on all the possible impacts of a carbon tax.

Any government action on climate change that presented a financial burden on the most financially disadvantaged in the community could have indirect health effects, he said. "People who have limited discretionary income may make decisions to buy less healthy food for the family, not fill prescriptions or avoid health checks," he said.

In the long term these decisions could lead to an increase in chronic illness, he said.

Professor Kolbe acknowledged the Gillard government had promised to compensate low-income families for a carbon tax, but he said the way that compensation was delivered may have an impact.

If it were delivered weekly instead of when power bills were due, low-income earners may not budget properly and save enough to cover power bills.

"We need to look at whether people who are disadvantaged are able to spread their electricity bills out over the entire year rather than face lump sums," he said.

The World Health Organisation recognised that climate change was a threat to public health, Professor Kolbe said.

Climate change would adversely affect clean air and water, food security, adequate shelter and freedom from disease, he said.