The latest Federal Government announcement that no refugees and asylum seekers arriving by boat will ever be permitted to settle in Australia confirms that it is committed to ignoring the health needs of these human beings who already have life long scars from their experiences which have led them to risk their lives to escape, said Dr Tim Woodruff, president, Doctors Reform Society. This deplorable continued lack of health care and support in detention centres is at the expense of and on behalf of the people of Australia

 
The well documented health effects of detention itself for people who have not committed any crime is reason to be deeply concerned. But the callous disregard of their ongoing health needs and a commitment by this Government to destroy whatever hope these clearly desperate people have is a reason for all Australians to be ashamed of our Government.

 
Health requires hope. The Government is destroying hope. It is also breaking the law by not adhering to the Convention on the Rights of the Child which it ratified in 1990. Below is just one item from the Convention which the Government is clearly ignoring in its policies in these detention centres.

 
Article 36: Children should be protected from any activities that could harm their development

 
A healthy Australia cannot exist whilst these unhealthy policies continue. We call on the Government to bring all refugees in our care (and they are in our care despite claims to the contrary), to Australia and given the health and social support required for them to live healthy lives. They will make Australia a more healthy place to live.

 
Dr Tim Woodruff                                            Dr Con Costa
Vice President                                                Vice President
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“The decision by the Government’s Department of Human Services to threaten an Australian who uses a variation on the Medicare logo to highlight concerns about the future of Medicare reveals a new low in the Coalition’s approach to Medicare”, said Dr Tim Woodruff, president, Doctors Reform Society. “This Australian citizen’s crime appears to be that he is using the Medicare logo in his efforts to inform the public about the Federal Government’s wish to destroy Medicare as we know it”.

“Meanwhile the Government itself is unapologetic about using the logo in its own election campaign.”

“What does the Government want to hide from the Australian public when it pursues policies to silence voices that disagree with those policies? Does it really want Australians to accept health policies which will take us to an expensive, inefficient, privatised, Americanised system? Why does it wish to suppress alternative voices?”

“We need debate. We need many voices expressing their concerns, their fears, their hopes, and we need to respond. Suppressing public voices will not lead to a more effective, efficient, and equitable health system”

‘The announcement yesterday by Health Minister Ley that the Commonwealth funded Child Dental Benefits Scheme (CDBS) and the Public Adult Dental National Partnership Agreement will both be cut is a kick in the teeth for the hundreds of thousands of Australians who suffer daily both from tooth decay and the various diseases which poor oral health promotes’, said Dr Tim Woodruff, president, Doctors Reform Society.

The announcement ignores the findings of a report into the CDBS authored by the Government’s own Chief Medical Officer which recommended an expansion of the scheme to cover in-patient care for complicated cases and much better promotion of the scheme.

No explanation has been offered as to why there is a cut in funding except the same unfounded excuse that savings need to be made. These cuts are not savings, they don’t save lives , they don’t get more people healthy and able to work, they add extra costs to the States and Territories, and the only beneficiary is the ‘Federal budget bottom line’.

If pharmaceutical companies which profit from the sale of prescription drugs to address disastrous dental decay were forced to pay the 30% corporate tax rate on their $8 billion yearly earnings in Australia rather than the paltry $85 million they do pay, we would have another $2.3 billion to properly fund our public dental schemes.

Dr Tim Woodruff                                            Dr Con Costa

President                                                       Vice President

Ph 0401042619                                             Ph 0418400309

“The news of a likely 5% private health insurance hike again this year means another $250 million in taxes gifted to the very profitable private health insurance industry whose leaders are enjoying a 30% plus rise in remuneration over the last few years, said Dr Tim Woodruff, president,” Doctors Reform Society. “It comes as ongoing research (the Household Financial Comfort Report) shows unsurprisingly that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting relatively poorer.”

“Meanwhile the Federal Government’s continues its heartless punishment of Centrelink welfare recipients irrespective of whether they are defrauding or not, leading to completely unnecessary and stressful situations for some of the most vulnerable in the community, some of whom are almost certainly on 3 year public hospital waiting lists, never dreaming of taxpayer subsidised private health insurance.”

“Meanwhile the Medicare rebate freeze designed to stop patients seeing their GP as often, will save $744 million over 3 years. Take from struggling patients, and give to private health insurers. This is Federal Government policy.”

“When will this heartless Federal Government govern for all Australians?” asked Dr Woodruff.

Dr Tim Woodruff                                            Dr Con Costa

President                                                                Vice President

Ph 0401042619                                               Ph 0418400309

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http://www.facebook.com/DoctorsReformSociety

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“The report card on public hospital performance released by the Australian Medical Association (AMA) yesterday showing a nationwide deterioration in the capacity of those hospitals to care for the 54% of Australians without private health insurance”, said Dr Tim Woodruff, president, Doctors Reform Society. “These are real people with major health problems. Many could be working, increasing Australia’s productivity. Many could be managing to live without the support of their relatives, releasing them to add to Australia’s productivity. They have been forgotten by a parsimonious Federal Government which can easily find extra taxes to subsidise private health insurance but not to pay its share of public hospital funding. These patients’ preventable pain and suffering is ignored.”

“Whilst the AMA holds to the incorrect view that public hospitals should be a safety net for the poor, it at least wants these hospitals to perform better. The Federal Government would appear very happy that public hospital care is inadequate as it then forces the desperate and concerned to take out private health insurance even if it is a huge financial struggle to do so.”

“Since Medicare was introduced, access to public hospitals without any personal costs has been an essential part of our health system. Combined with improved access to GPs, it has been the basis for a fairer health system, aiming to enable anyone, irrespective of wealth, to get good health care. Instead we continue to move Medicare and public hospitals towards a grossly inadequate safety net for the poor, a financial struggle and potential disaster for the middle class, and wonderful access for all those on politicians’ incomes and more.”

“The Great Dividing Range used to be a barrier to the growth of our nation”, said Dr Woodruff. “The divide between rich and poor engineered by this Federal Government will be the new barrier.”

Dr Tim Woodruff President
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Dr Con Costa Vice President
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“The Federal Government has now agreed to fund telephone consults longer than 20 minutes. This means that a small group of the most vulnerable in our community have proper access to GPs”, said Dr Tim Woodruff, President, Doctors Reform Society. “This is very welcome news.”

“Just a few weeks ago the same Government stopped funding such consults without any justification. That decision left the most vulnerable to cope with the generosity of under-funded GPs who, if they wished to help the patient with more than 20 minutes of care, were told by a heartless Government that they would not be funded for that extra care. For patients, nothing had changed. They were unable to use video conferencing but the Government decided that the telephone alternative was not acceptable.  What a heartless turnaround.”

“Now, with COVID in full swing they have backflipped. It is now OK to do long telephone consults and for the GP to be funded properly. But why were such consults defunded anyway?” asked Dr Woodruff. “ This change is a correct decision but restricted only to NSW hotspots. Why were GPs and patients kicked in the guts weeks ago when the very same patients were denied access to long consultations via telephone? No justification was given then for a decision which disadvantaged the most vulnerable people in our community, i.e. those who needed a long consultation because they had major problems and they were not computer literate.”

“The backflip applies only to consultations, not to giving more complicated care and working out care plans, items that were previously funded.”

“These policy changes indicate that our Government is simply not aware of the struggle for GPs and our most vulnerable patients dealing with major health issues in such a difficult environment,” said  Dr Woodruff. “Telephone consults help enormously. They need to be expanded, not reduced.”

Dr Tim Woodruff, President Ph 0401042619

Dr Con Costa OAM, Vice President Ph 0418400309

“The announcement today by the Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd, to co-operate with
states and territories to improve public hospitals is long overdue and very welcome,” said Dr Tim Woodruff, President of Doctors Reform Society.

A National Health Reform Commission to set standards and dispense funds based on
need, is an exciting development which can only benefit our desperate patients
throughout Australia said Dr Woodruff.

“The injection of extra funding will set the scene for major improvements, however the savings of billions by improved efficiencies, will also mean a further injection of
funding.” said Dr Woodruff.

“We can only wonder why the current Federal government has not put forward such a
promising proposal to date.”

Dr Tim Woodruff
President
Doctors Reform Society

Dr Con Costa
Vice President
Doctors Reform Society

Dr Tracy Schrader
Vice President Qld
Doctors Reform Society

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“The report today that specialists are charging large copayments which inevitably stop patients seeing them is further evidence that governments have little thought for the financial struggle for many patients to access quality health care” said Dr Tim Woodruff, president, Doctors Reform Society. “A second report today from the Grattan Institute show sthe Federal Government could save $445 million yearly if they payed (using our taxes) world market prices for prescriptions. With such savings we could be reducing prescription copayments rather than increasing them.”

“Voluntary doctor imposed copayments in a society in which the sense of entitlement is rampant amongst the rich is leaving patients at the mercy of the extremely variable charity of doctors. We need more salaried public hospital doctors and that requires both Federal and State intervention.”

“The bipartisan agreement by the Coalition and Labor to slug patients $40 for prescription drugs and the more recent Coalition grab for a $5 increase in that government imposed copayment (tax on illness), results in 8-10% of Australians delaying or not filling out their prescriptions because of costs. Patients pay $1.4 billion yearly in prescription drug copayments.

“Copayments stop patients accessing services,” said Dr Woodruff. “Copayments lead to increased suffering. Copayments kill. But in the end they don’t save money. Sick people can’t work, and the costs of dealing with illness poorly treated is ultimately much greater. Where are the politicians who care about people and about investing in health?”

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This year’s budget claims to be about funding infrastructure and restoring fairness. The most important piece of infrastructure for the future of Australians is the people. The health of every Australian is vital for our country to progress. But almost all of the health measures in the budget are simply partial restorations of funding which has previously been slashed. It would appear this budget is designed simply to move health off the political agenda as much as possible.

Whilst extra funding for mental health and for research in primary health care is welcome, the paltry 3% increase in hospital funding is less than inflation, the Medicare rebate freeze will still remain in part for 3 years, there is no new funding for preventive health, for expansion of Primary Health Care networks to co-ordinate the chaotic health system patients have to negotiate, for dental care, or for the myriad supportive community based programs axed by the 2014 budget’s cut to flexible funding.

Funding for general practice is now becoming increasingly dependent on rents from pathology companies with multiple potential dangers as the Government attempts to reduce the cost of pathology.

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The latest announcement by the Federal Government to entrench unpopular private health insurance ( PHI) should be seen for what it really is, a poor plan to shore up a bad product – which maintains unfairness and inequity in our health system, said Dr Tim Woodruff, president, Doctors Reform Society.

These changes completely ignore the fact that all  Australians are dependent on the public health system at some stage, and that the PHI rebate of over $6 billion is being spent on a grossly inefficient and failed private insurance system, to help those who can afford it to jump the queue for their elective surgery.

What will happen to those who choose a lesser tier of the new system?  If they get sick and have no money, they are left to a remaindered Medicare system or depending on the charity of the doctors?That’s how it was before Medicare.

This announcement sends a clear message to those who can’t afford PHI: you don’t matter, you deserve long waiting times because you can’t afford PHI.

It demonstrates the privatisation mentality of our leaders, and the complete lack of concern they have for a cheaper and more efficient universal health system.  They are simply doing the bidding of the private health insurers. The proposed PHI changes are another major step towards the Americanisation of our health system, said Dr Woodruff.

Dr Tim Woodruff                                            Dr Con Cost                                                  President                                                        Vice President

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