Truss puts blowtorch to Independents over rebate cuts
17th May, 2011
“IF THE federal Independent MPs side with Labor and the Greens to means test the private health insurance rebates, they will be restricting services to healthcare in their own electorates, as well as across regional Australia, while causing a blow-out in public hospital waiting lists,” Leader of The Nationals Warren Truss warned today.“On Sunday’s Meet the Press program Tony Windsor indicated he may vote with the Coalition to oppose means testing the rebates. It’s time Rob Oakeshott drew a line in the sand on behalf of the community he purports to represent and joined us in blocking the Labor-Greens move.
“Thanks to new data from the Australian Health Insurance Association, I know that 43.6% of my Wide Bay electorate has private health insurance. All three Independents — Mr Windsor, Mr Oakeshott and Andrew Wilkie — who backed the Labor-Greens alliance will have significant health insurance membership in their communities.
“Everyone will pay under the Labor-Greens bid to means test the rebates, not just those in higher income brackets. Research by Deloitte shows that 1.6 million people in the target salary ranges will dump their private hospital cover and another 4.3 million will downgrade it.
“This exodus will force premiums up an extra 10% for those left in health schemes, placing massive cost pressure on the 5.6 million Australians with health cover who earn less than $50,000-a-year.
“Deloitte also says the public system will be overrun as more than 845,000 extra admissions pour through public hospital doors. Ironically, this surge would cost taxpayers an extra $3.8 billion — twice the $1.9 billion the government hopes to save by means testing the rebates.
“State governments have been quick to demand compensation for these extra public patients.
“In addition to costs, services in regional areas will also suffer. Typically, private hospitals in the regions have lower occupancy rates, meaning they operate on wafer-thin margins. Any erosion in those rates will be magnified in regional hospitals and likely force cuts to services or, potentially, cause some private hospitals to close their doors entirely.
“With private hospitals come visiting specialists. Any tinkering with the rebate that causes a cutback in demand in regional private hospitals will flow directly to specialists, who will retreat back to the cities — denying regional patients local access to the expertise and services they need, and forcing patients to travel further, and at greater cost, for consultations and treatments.
“The Coalition will, once again, vote to block this flawed assault on individuals and families who take responsibility for their own healthcare and, in doing so, save public hospital beds for public patients.
“But, in the end, it will come down to how the Independents vote. They must help us to block this short-sighted and bloody-minded Labor-Greens’ push, which will cause collateral fallout for local healthcare services so vital to regional communities.
“Labor and the Greens’ bid to cut those services in regional areas must draw a definitive response from the Independents if those healthcare services are to be retained in local communities. This time there is nowhere for the Independents to hide.”
[ENDS]
