The healthcare reforms tomorrow night’s budget must contain

Ahead of tomorrow’s federal budget, the Australian Medical Association is reiterating its calls for meaningful reforms and adequate funding to address the challenges impacting the healthcare system. 

The AMA has provided the federal government with a raft of costed recommendations, including: 

• improving after-hours access to GPs, strengthening continuity of care and taking the strain off emergency departments 

• reforming private healthcare, including introducing a minimum pay out ratio of 90 per cent for private insurers and establishing an independent authority to oversee the sector 

• modernising Medicare, including reforming GP rebates, to better support longer and more complex care 

• investing in multidisciplinary care provision at general practices, giving patients access to more services under one roof 

• getting serious on preventative health by introducing a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages 

• properly planning and investing in the health workforce to safeguard its future effectiveness 

• delivering true reform and sustainable funding to help public hospitals clear logjams, improve performance, and restore capacity. 

AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said the government has an opportunity tomorrow to take further steps to addressing the cracks impacting Australia’s healthcare system. 

“We have made it clear what we want to hear from the Treasurer tomorrow evening,” Dr McMullen said. 

“Australia’s healthcare system is the envy of many countries around the world, and we can be proud of it, but we cannot take it for granted and simply watch cracks in its foundations widen. If we ignore the need for reform and sufficient funding, we run the real risk of watching the system crumble. 

“Funding healthcare shouldn’t be seen as a cost, it’s an investment that benefits communities across the country, now and into the future. We need funding at sufficient levels and delivered to the right services.” 

Dr McMullen also warned of the risks of failing to take steps to reverse the trend of private health insurance becoming ever costlier, with more and more people downgrading their cover in response. 

“Private hospitals have traditionally played an important role in helping to reduce demand on our public health system, but that ecosystem is under threat. Patients are paying ever increasing insurance premiums only to receive reduced levels of coverage and smaller benefits. 

“We are calling for the introduction of a minimum pay-out ratio of 90 per cent to provide a fairer deal for patients and private hospitals and encourage greater uptake of private insurance.  The AMA would also like to see funding for hospital-in-the-home services, through the introduction of a minimum payable benefit for these services in the private sector.”