Health Bodies Respond to 2014 Federal Health Budget

The 2014/15 federal budget has been announced. So what has been the response from various sectors of the health community? Here is a brief overview:

Optometry Australia

Optometry Australia has announced that Australians’ access to primary eye healthcare will suffer following the release of the Federal Government Budget.

Australia’s 4,648 optometrists provide care to more than 7.6 million patient visits each year, but according to the Optometrists Association Australia, the profession’s leading member based professional organisation, the Budget threatens to negate the ability of optometrists to meet the growing eye care needs of the community through an erosion of the Medicare investment in primary eye health and vision care services.

“About 75 per cent of eye and vision problems in Australia are preventable with early detection by an eye care professional such as an optometrist,” President of Optometrists Association Australia Mr Andrew Harris said.

“Yesterday the Government announced it was reducing the rebate Australians can access for eye care, and the frequency with which Australians under 65 years of age can access optometry services, as well as imposing a continuation of the freeze to indexation for all non GP Medicare services, including optometry.”

Doctors Reform Society of Australia (DRS)

The Doctors Reform Society of Australia (DRS) feels that the budget has signaled the end of hassle free health care, with Australians will no longer having access to basic health care as a right.

“The budget is proposing to cut $ 1.5 billion from Medicare by the GP copayment,” said Dr Con Costa, National president of Doctors Reform society of Australia. “Additionally they are proposing to reduce hospital funding by $1.5 billion per year.  The misleading statements about a $20 billion medical research fund are ridiculous.They are only proposing to spend $265 million over 3 years from 2015.”

Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA)

In a positive response, the country’s leading dementia researchers, consumers and key advocacy groups applaud the Government’s vision to invest $200 million to accelerate research into dementia over the next five years, claiming that this new funding has the potential to place Australia at the forefront of dementia research internationally.

NeuRA‘s Prof Peter Schofield said: “We are excited that this initiative provides the opportunity to boost dementia research capacity, building on our already strong research base. This funding will produce an enduring benefit for Australia and for those many hundreds of thousands of Australians who will be diagnosed with dementia into the future. The award of dedicated funding of this magnitude will be a major gain for dementia research.”

National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA)

The NRHA also responded neutrally to the Federal Budget, claiming that rural election commitments have been met – but modestly.  These commitments include funding for additional GP consultation rooms for supervising registrars and medical students in rural and remote locations, and a small investment in scholarships for nursing and allied health.

“It is hard to see how the increase in patient contributions will assist in improving access to primary care for people in rural and remote communities” said NRHA Chairperson Tim Kelly.

“Whether it’s the $7 co-payment under bulk-billing or the $5 extra in out-of-pocket costs for general patients, the extra cost will have to be borne by either the patient or the GP,” he said.

Health Sector Union (HSU)

The HSU has stated that Medicare is under assault. Chris Brown, Acting National Secretary, HSU National said that the introduction of a Medicare co-payment in the Federal Budget by the Abbott Government will threaten the health of Australians and represents an assault on the principle of universal health care.

“A $7 co-payment for a visit to the GP or a hospital emergency department and an extra $5 for PBS listed medicines will fundamentally alter how Australians on low or fixed incomes access health care in this country. The co-payment will start at $7 but in every budget the pressure will be on to lift it,” he said.

“It is of great concern that the stated aim of the policy is to deter people from seeking medical help when they are sick. This will lead to people getting sicker and becoming an even greater burden on the health system, costing the Government significantly more.”

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