Submission

AMA submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee Inquiry into the Health Insurance Amendment (Safety Net) Bill 2015

The AMA has made a submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee Inquiry into the Health Insurance Amendment (Safety Net) Bill 2015.  
 
The AMA submission is supportive of simplifying the current Medicare safety net arrangements, but does not support the new Medicare Safety Net contained in the bill because it reduces the financial assistance provided to patients for out-of-hospital medical care. The bill, if passed, is estimated to save $266.7 million over the first five years of implementation. Given the new Safety Net is much tighter, and applies to all Medicare services, the AMA is concerned that the savings are significantly understated and that the impact on patients will be much greater.