Labor congratulates Sussan Ley on retaining the Health portfolio, and urges her to end her party’s three year war against Medicare by abandoning her government’s disastrous health cuts.
During the election campaign the minister publicly complained that she had been unable to persuade her colleagues to abandon the Medicare Freeze.
The Minister must now make good on her reappointment by immediately
- ending the six year freeze on Medicare payments for doctors’ visits which is ripping $2 billion out of health
- abandoning cuts to bulk billing incentives for pathology and diagnostic imaging.
- properly funding public hospitals.
Mr Turnbull today insisted he was confident he would have a much better relationship with new AMA President Michael Gannon who today set down the following benchmarks for the Turnbull Government:
“The Government, led by Health Minister Ley, must first scrap the Medicare rebate freeze, reverse the cuts to pathology and medical imaging bulk billing incentives, and properly fund public hospitals.”
AMA PRESIDENT MICHAEL GANNON, 18 JULY 2016
Unless the Prime Minister backs down, among the very first acts in the new parliament will be regulations to scrap bulk billing incentives for pathology and diagnostic imaging,
Already, Malcolm Turnbull’s Medicare Freeze is forcing GPs to abandon bulk billing and slug patients every time they visit the doctor and these further cuts will only add to the pressure on the health system.
Labor created Medicare and Labor will always protect Medicare.
If Mr Turnbull is serious about learning the lesson of the last election, he will join Labor in scrapping these cuts and ensuring all Australians can access health care when and where they need it.