Australian Medical Association

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, today challenged the major parties to commit to a serious review of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) to reflect the comprehensive nature and quality of care that patients receive from their family doctor and to allow new technologies and procedures to be embraced by general practice for the benefit of patients.

Dr Pesce said that the MBS has failed to keep up with the cost of providing GP services and has not allowed family doctors to provide testing or referrals that could improve patient care.

“The recently completed simplification of the MBS did not go far enough,” Dr Pesce said.

“The structure of items needs more work, red tape must be cut, and the MBS should allow family doctors to conduct point-of-care testing (PoCT) in their practices and directly refer patients for MRIs.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the increase in electronic Medicare rebate claiming announced by the Government is a good case to introduce ongoing financial support to assist medical practices cover the administrative costs associated with electronic claiming.

Dr Pesce said Medicare Easyclaim had effectively shifted the administrative burden of electronic Medicare claims from Medicare Australia to private medical practice – but with no ongoing compensation for the shift in responsibility for administering the system.

“The AMA is pleased that Minister Bowen has today recognised the considerable work that medical practices are now doing on behalf of Medicare offices around Australia,” Dr Pesce said.

“Medical practices are contributing to significant savings in administration costs for the Government.

“The Transitional Support Package has provided the impetus to almost double the number of participating medical providers and the number of electronic claims made since April this year, but the Package expires on 31 December.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the Government’s promised streamlining of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) has delivered a number of worthwhile reforms, but has not matched the rhetoric of the Prime Minister’s 2007 election promise to ‘simplify Medicare’.

Dr Pesce said that Australia’s hard working GPs had high hopes that GP consultation items would be comprehensively overhauled and red tape cut to a minimum so they could spend more time with their patients.

“The AMA fully expected the Government to deliver on its promise to simplify Medicare but the results fall short of the expectations of many GPs,” Dr Pesce said.

“We can only hope that this is just the first step in an ongoing reform process.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the ongoing chaos over Medicare patient rebates for cataract surgery stresses the need for proper meaningful consultation with the medical profession before cuts or changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) are considered, not after the event.

Dr Pesce said Parliament will rise without this matter being properly resolved and patients waiting for cataract surgery will go to Christmas and the holiday season anxious and uncertain about their sight-restoring operation.

“The AMA position is that the original rebate should have been restored while a formal consultation process with the profession was put in place to reach a workable agreed outcome for all parties, but especially for patients,” Dr Pesce said.

The AMA has prepared a list of the MBS items and the amount of the cuts to the Medicare rebates that will apply from 1 November 2009.  A template letter is available so that medical practices can inform their patients about the Government's decision to withdraw its support to patients and to obtain informed financial consent.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that a ‘new schedule fee (rebate)’ for complex cataract surgery announced by the Health Minister was a mirage and that most Australians in need of cataract surgery will still be worse off as a result of the original Budget cut.

Dr Pesce said the new rebate of $850.75 for a complex cataract extraction of 40 minutes or more is an increase of just $19.15 (2.3 per cent) for existing item 42702, and will apply to a small minority of procedures.

“The great majority of cataract procedures are still subject to the harsh Budget cut,” Dr Pesce said.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that removal of the Medicare rebate for synovial joint injections to relieve the pain and discomfort of arthritic joints will cause financial and physical suffering for thousands of elderly Australians.

The typical patient who needs a joint injection is a person in their sixties or seventies with intractable knee or shoulder pain while on the waiting list – sometimes for years – for a joint replacement.  It is a common treatment for Indigenous Australians.  The Government expects the medical profession to absorb this service as part of a standard patient consultation.

Dr Pesce said many older Australians would now have to pay a minimum $23 per injection for up to 25 injections per patient per year, which is a lot of money for a pensioner or person on limited income.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, today labelled an advertisement produced by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) as an unfair attack on hardworking doctors and a betrayal of elderly Labor voters who may no longer be able to afford cataract surgery to save or improve their sight.

The ALP today released a campaign video through its website and on sites such as You Tube that defends the Government’s heartless Budget decision to halve the Medicare patient rebate for cataract surgery by accusing dedicated ophthalmologists of overcharging their patients.

Dr Pesce said the ad is a blatant ideological slur on doctors.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that an AMA survey of ophthalmologists highlights why the Government should reverse its Budget decision to halve the Medicare patient rebate for cataract surgery.

Dr Pesce said that older Australians would be hit hardest by this callous Budget cut at a stage of life when they are struggling to keep their sight and afford a good quality of life.

Despite a few hysterical and misleading headlines in today’s papers, Medicare Australia’s National Compliance Program report provides compelling evidence that Australia’s doctors are overwhelmingly doing the right thing by Medicare.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said the audit process has resulted in just four convictions against unspecified providers out of a total of 2,785 Medicare audits, and there is evidence of cooperation in cases where incorrect payments have been identified for recovery or correction.