Peter Dutton’s ‘American style’ Medicare reforms would have cost families $800 a year

‘American-style’ reforms on Medicare would cost Australian families $800 a year.

Anthony Albanese is plotting a new assault on Peter Dutton’s Medicare credentials accusing him of previously backing ‘American-style’ reforms including $7 fees for emergency department visits and pathology tests.

Warning the reforms if implemented would have cost some families up to $800 a year, the Prime Minister warned Mr Dutton as health minister also increased patient co-payments for PBS medicines.

While Mr Dutton’s previous support for introducing a new $7 fee to see a GP is well-known, the ALP plans to highlight other measures he championed including a new fee for fronting up in emergency with minor ailments.

Ten years ago, Peter Dutton signalled dramatic changes to Medicare to address “staggering” increases in health spending including a new $7 fee for visits to the doctor.

Pledging to “start a national conversation about modernising and strengthening Medicare” Mr Dutton warned the health system was “riddled with inefficiency and waste” and doing nothing was not an option.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Picture: Jason Edwards / NewsWire

Liberal Leader Peter Dutton. Picture: Richard Dobson / Newswire

Back in 2014, Mr Dutton as health minister also backed a proposal to charge a modest fee to attend emergency departments in public hospitals.

The budget proposed that public hospitals be allowed to charge for visits to emergency rooms by patients with ailments that only require a visit to a GP.

In 2014, he also told the 7:30 report that people who had “means to contribute to their own healthcare” should do so.

“I want to make sure that, for argument’s sake, we have a discussion about you or me on reasonable incomes, whether we should expect to pay nothing when we go to see the doctor, when we go to have a blood test – should we expect to pay nothing as a co-contribution and other taxpayers to pick up that bill?” he said.

“My own view is that people at the moment pay a co-contribution through when they buy their medicines, regardless of their income,” Mr Dutton said.

“People pay as little as $6 for a $17,000 prescription, a single prescription. People pay a co-payment at the moment for their private health insurance. Eleven million Australians have private health insurance.

“Many Australians already pay a co-payment when they go to see a doctor. Now, the issue is how you guarantee access, particularly for those who are without means, and how you don’t deter people from going to see a doctor if there is some sort of a payment mechanism in place.”

The $7 GP fee reforms, that became known as the GP tax, tore apart the Abbott Government in the wake of the 2014 budget before they were dumped and disavowed by Mr Dutton in his new role as Liberal leader.

“Labor may pretend that you can give services away for free, but if you want to be a true friend to Medicare and you want to strengthen and modernise Medicare, you need to make sure that the structure reforms are put in place to provide for an ageing population,’’ Mr Dutton said in 2014.

“We have one of the best health systems in the world but we have to recognise that for a population of 23 million people we provide 263 million free services a year.”

‘American-style’ reforms including $7 fees for emergency department visits and pathology tests.

After he was moved to a new portfolio in 2015, his now deputy leader Sussan Ley took over the health portfolio.

She dropped the $5 co-payment policy and announced her intention to consult with GPs and other stakeholders in order to discuss the need to “insert a price signal of a modest co-payment into the health system for those who have the capacity to pay.”

Now the ALP has prepared a new analysis claiming that if those reforms had remained in place Australians would have spent $40 billion more for GP visits, medicines, medical tests and scans in less than 10 years.

The analysis claims a family of four – two adults and two kids – would have paid an additional $6326 or $665 a year.

A family with three kids would have paid $8000 more, or $832 a year.

“Not a single one of those GP visits, blood tests or medical scans would have been free, because Peter Dutton would have ended bulk billing with his American-style healthcare,’’ the Prime Minister will say.

Proportion of GP visits that are bulk billed.

Mr Dutton also introduced legislation to increase the cost of PBS medicines by $5 a prescription for everyone with a Medicare card and no concession card.

New South Wales would have been hit hardest by Mr Dutton’s American-style healthcare.

Following recommendations of the National Commission of Audit, the 2014 budget contained a A$5 increase in the general level of co-payments, from A$37.70 to A$42.70.

The same script today will soon cost $25 under reforms announced by Labor and backed by Peter Dutton.

Peter Dutton slams ‘scare campaign’

Mr Dutton has previously accused the ALP of a scare campaign on health.

“Enough of the scare campaign, PM,’’ he said.

“As Health Minister, I was proud to increase hospital funding by 16 per cent and establish the Medical Research Future Fund.

“I increased bulk billing to 84 per cent and the Coalition finished its term in Government with bulk billing reaching 88 per cent.

“As Prime Minister, I will continue to invest in key health services and a health system we can all rely on.”

Originally published as Peter Dutton’s ‘American style’ Medicare reforms would have cost families $800 a year