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Ex AMA President and federal by election candidate for Griffith out of step with GPs, his own organisation (AMA) and with Australia’s patients say DRS Ex AMA president and federal by election candidate Bill Glasson’s support for copayment is not unexpected said Dr Con Costa, National president of the DRS.  The AMA was one of the most ferocious opponent of the introduction of bulk billing when Medicare was first introduced as Medibank. However, unlike the AMA which has moved on, Dr Glasson seems to be continuing the war on Medicare, bulk billing and Australia’s patients.

Contrary to Dr Glasson’s press statement – GP visits are not “free”.  They are paid for by all Australians through their taxes and the Medicare levy.  They are low cost because of the economic downward pressure on doctors fees caused by bulk billing – and this is what some doctors, especially specialist doctors cannot tolerate, said Dr Costa.  No charge at point of seeing the GP is an integral part of Medicare – and high levels of bulk billing keep costs down.

When Medibank, later Medicare, was introduced it led to doctors moving away from just the affluent areas of our cities.  For the first time women who are the principal care givers, and their families had access to doctors – as well as preventive screening which, before bulk billing, was the prerogative only of richer women. Now Dr Glasson wants to take us back to the bad old days before Medicare, said Dr Tracy Schrader, Brisbane GP and national vice President of the DRS.

Dr Glasson wants to go back to the pre Medicare system where doctors are concentrated in the more affluent suburbs of our cities – and can charge their private patients while the rest of us line up at the casualty or ED, or attend the doctor as a charity case, said Dr Schrader. 

Introducing copayments or up front fees for the GP will dissuade many women from attending the doctor early in their families illness of for preventive screening.  It will result in much greater costs for the health system overall and most of the costs shifted from “open ended” federal funding to “closed” or limited state funding.  Thus more people will be lining up for less care.

The big losers will be the patients in outer suburban and rural areas – those same people that benefitted from Medicare when it was introduced – as well as our public hospitals which will become clogged up with GP type patients.

If Dr Glasson believes that a copayment is affordable to most Australians then we ask whether he is opposed to the suggestion of the copayment being extended to Public Hospital ED departments to “stop the rush of Medicare patients to the state hospital ‘free’ ED”.

Dr Glasson, an ophthalmologist, should be well aware of the high and often unaffordable cost for Australians to see a specialist. He is out of step with Australia’s GPs many of whom are concerned:

1. many of their more needy patients wont be able to see them for chronic and complex illness

2. the bureaucratic nightmare of policing complex new rules and collecting payments

3. will probably stop bulk billing if copayments introduced. 

4. and with his own organisation (the AMA) which has expressed concerns about the negative impact of a copayment – and also its negative effect of the state public hospital system.

Brisbane based GP DRS national vice President Tracy Schrader called on Mr Glasson to debate the Copayment issue.  He is running for federal office and people have a right to know exactly where he stands on important issues such as equitable access to health  care, driving our high out of pocket costs even higher, and driving up the overall costs of the health system by white anting Medicare, said Dr Schrader.

Sydney Brisbane  Melbourne

Dr con costa  Dr Tracy Schrader  Dr Tim Woodruff

National President  Vice President  0401042619

0418400309 Ph 0408 892 610 

(02) 97978710

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