It’s the secret the Turnbull Government hid from the Australian people on Budget night – Australians will continue to pay more for health, with their GP freeze not fully lifted until 2020.
The Government cannot be trusted with a single word they say on Medicare.
An official Health Department document lists 113 Medicare items which will stay frozen for another three years – including consultations for mental health plans and chronic disease assessments:
Official Medicare statistics show that these items were used more than 23 million times last financial year. This comes on the back of revelations that despite the Government boasting they were unfreezing diagnostic imaging, only 7% of items will actually have their rebates indexed.
Shadow Minister for Heath and Medicare Catherine King said the Government had zero credibility and their health budget was unravelling.
“This is an unbelievable insult to patients and doctors,” Ms King said.
“These items include GP mental health plans and health assessments for someone at risk of chronic disease or diabetes – the exact services that we want to encourage use of to keep Australians healthy.
“The Turnbull Government cares more about their political health than they ever will about the health of Australians. This is proof that this was a health budget of smoke and mirrors rather than actually addressing their cuts.
“Cutting $2.2 billion out of Medicare and keeping the freeze in place until 2020 shows exactly why Malcolm Turnbull can’t be trusted on health.”
SUNDAY 28 MAY 2017