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The report from the Australian Medical Association detailing the problems of the health system and of our public hospitals identifies many important issues and deficiencies, said Dr Tim Woodruff, President, Doctors Reform Society, but its stance is staggering hypocritical.

It is extraordinary that the AMA’s recommendations for support of the public hospital system ignores its own support for the private health industry and the income of its members to the detriment of the public hospital system, said Dr Woodruff.

The taxpayer funded private hospital system has expanded massively since the Private Health Insurance rebate was introduced, said Dr Woodruff. It costs taxpayers over $3 billion per year, just the amount the AMA suggests the public hospitals need and yet the AMA continues to support this gross misuse of taxes which expands the private system and drags doctors and nurses from the resource starved public system.

Additionally the AMA has supported the grossly inequitable Medicare ‘safety net’ which distributes taxes to specialists in the richest areas of Australia and fails to address the reasons for the need for such a ‘safety net’ ie the exorbitant out of pocket costs patients have to pay for health care. Since 1996 these out of pocket costs have increased by 50%.

It’s time for the AMA to come clean and admit that taxes used to promote the growth of the private health industry is in direct conflict with its claim that it wants a better public hospital system.

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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