Health is one of the key issues that will determine votes at the 2004 election. Health policy affects every Australian every day in some way.
Australia has one of the best health systems in the world with the public and private sectors complementing each other to provide patients with quality choice.
But more and more we are seeing stories about a health system under pressure.
A health system where many Australians are finding it difficult to get to see a doctor.
A health system where people are paying more for their health services as costs continue to rise and Medicare rebates do not keep up with such cost increases.
A public health system feeling the effects of years of under-investment from successive Governments of both persuasions.
High quality affordable health care is a right, not a privilege. But for many Australians that right is being eroded. Access and affordability remain key concerns that must be further addressed.
The AMA has produced Key Health Issues for the Federal Election 2004 as a guide to judge how the Government and the would-be Government are responding to the health needs of the Australian people.
We have not covered every aspect of health policy or the health system. Instead we have concentrated on the issues that matter right now to the AMA’s 28,000 members, their patients, and the wider community.
The AMA does not create its health policies or attitudes in isolation: they are constructed on input from the doctors who work in the health system and the patients who are treated in the health system every day.
Our system of individual choice, of a mix of world-class public hospital provision, accessible high quality private health, and an emerging aged care sector needs support and strengthening.
The independence of the doctor-patient relationship is the foundation of care in each of these settings.
We look forward to an energetic and intelligent debate on health policy during the election campaign.
Whatever the election outcome, the AMA will continue to work with the newly elected
Government to inform and advise about making this health system even better – a health system that serves all Australians well into the future, not just for the three-year election cycle.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra, on Wednesday 14 July 2004, Dr Glasson said the AMA document would provide the media, the public and health commentators with a handy guide to how the major parties are responding to the health needs of the community.
Media Release - AMA Sets out Health Policy Priorities for voters ahead of the 2004 Federal Election