Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Access to affordable health care for all is one of the founding principles of Medicare. The promise that that green Medicare card would give all Australians access to health care when they need it is a promise that we must uphold.

During a global pandemic, the government has snuck in almost a thousand changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule. These changes would radically alter the costs of hundreds of orthopaedic, cardiac and general surgery items. The Prime Minister's plan to cut Medicare rebates means that patients will have to choose between cancelling life-changing surgeries and being hit with huge bills they were not given notice about. This is no surprise, because, after eight years of this government—who have been planning over and over again, in different ways, to cut Medicare—this is just the newest iteration. The government has released very little information about the latest changes, creating confusion for patients and doctors alike. There is no certainty about the cost of their medical procedures after 1 July this year. That is only a few days away.

We've seen the Australian Medical Association president express his concerns about the confusion created by these latest cuts. Earlier this month, the AMA said that they were 'concerned that the private healthcare sector—including health funds, hospitals, doctors and patients—will not be ready' for 1 July. Of course, this will just further exacerbate the impact that growing out-of-pocket costs for medical treatment are having on my community. Under this Liberal-National government, we've seen increasing out-of-pocket costs for patients. In my electorate of Kingston, in the southern suburbs of Adelaide, the average out-of-pocket cost for seeing a GP as part of a non-referred attendance has increased by 26 per cent under this Liberal government. This is leaving patients, on average, $32.45 out of pocket. That almost equals the Medicare rebate itself. Far from making a small out-of-pocket contribution, constituents in my electorate are significantly out of pocket, and this is not good enough. The average out-of-pocket cost of seeing a specialist has also soared for those in the southern suburbs. It has increased by a massive 48 per cent under the Liberal-National government, leaving patients, on average, $69.70 out of pocket to see a specialist. This just isn't good enough.

I said in my first speech that health care should be determined by your Medicare card, not your credit card. Your credit card should not determine the level of health care you get. It is now time for this whole parliament to stand up for Medicare, stand up for universal health care and ensure that people with healthcare needs get support when they need it.