Tony Abbott’s cuts to health will force people to choose between feeding their families, heating their home or paying for healthcare.
In damning evidence to the Senate Inquiry into out of pocket health expenses, The Consumers Health Forum warned the GP Tax would present pensioners with a stark choice: whether to go without food, heating, or essential medical care.
Australian Medical Association President Brian Owler also told the inquiry the GP Tax will threaten the viability of surgeries that bulk bill and compromise the quality of care Australians receive.
Waiting lists in hospitals will increase as the GP Tax drives patients into already overstretched emergency departments. The Consumers Health Forum estimates waiting times could increase by up to three hours.
Former Health Department Secretary Dr Stephen Duckett told the committee the GP Tax could end up costing more than it saved by shifting demand to Emergency Departments and leaving chronic illness untreated.
As the AMA told the inquiry, there is no evidence Australia’s health care system is unsustainable. Tony Abbott must now scrap his regressive, damaging and unnecessary GP Tax and cuts to health care.