President's update: National Press Club address, AFR Health Summit, Medical Costs Finder, and more

Happy Friday! 

Easter is a time for catching-up with friends and family and eating hot-cross buns and chocolate. I hope you were able to relax and recharge during the break. 

I put my time to good use by spending too much money at Bunnings and re-painting my front fence. And it turned out to be a half-way decent job, if I do say so myself. 

Next Wednesday, I am addressing the National Press Club in Canberra, with the address to be televised nationally. I am honoured to be given this opportunity and to be able to speak on behalf of our profession. I’ll use this opportunity to step through the challenges facing our system, but also the strengths we have, which we mustn’t lose sight of. 

We take as many opportunities as we can to promote meaningful health system reform, and recently I spoke at the Australian Financial Review’s Health Summit in Sydney about the costs of healthcare. From general practice to outpatient non-GP specialist care and inpatient stays, I highlighted the many factors leading to costs and policies which would actually drive improved patient support without sacrificing quality. 

To support a national conversation on reform, we released The gaps that create gaps — a new online resource outlining the policy failures and structural inconsistencies that drive up out‑of‑pocket costs. An absence of reform leads to finger-pointing and a blame game while policy failures and structural issues that drive up patients’ out-of-pocket costs are ignored. 

We have identified several immediate reform opportunities for government, including increasing the knowngap limit, which has been frozen at $500 and never indexed and establishing a Private Health System Authority to drive longterm reform and transparency. 

On a related issue, we are strongly advocating for members on proposed changes to the Medical Costs Finder website to ensure it gives a full picture of what contributes to patient costs.  

We are very concerned about the proposal to publish a single annual “average fee” for each medical practitioner. The Bill also lacks a clear process for doctors to correct wrong information or to remedy incorrect information that damages their reputation or the viability of their practice. We are calling for more consultation on the proposed changes to ensure it genuinely supports consumers and does not replicate the mistakes that have plagued the existing website. 

Lastly, just before Easter I was so excited to see the passage of Legislation to ensure life insurance companies can’t discriminate against customers based on genetic testing. The AMA has fought for these protections to ensure Australians, and their doctors, can investigate genetic predispositions without fear of insurance penalty.  

Thanks again for all the work you all do for our patients. See you next week!