MEDICARE CAMPAIGN

Defend Medicare to ensure access to health care for all Australians.

Fact Sheet 1 - What is Medicare
Fact Sheet 2 - Why is Medicare important
Fact Sheet 3 - What has happened to Medicare
Fact Sheet 4 - Medicare Undermined
Fact Sheet 5 - Why workers need Medicare
Fact Sheet 6 - Medicare Plus - a minus for all
Fact Sheet 7 - The truth behind the Medicare Plus safety net

Medicare provides universal health insurance funded through our taxation system, and is based on care according to need, not ability to pay. Medicare recognises health care as a public good, not merely a personal responsibility.
Medicare is now seriously under threat by changes proposed by the Howard government!

• Australians want a "fair go" for all
• No-one ever asks to be sick — serious illness or injury can strike you at any time
• Health is a community responsibility
• There is a growing health gap between rich and poor
• Health changes are already causing inequality — as out-of-pocket health charges increase, growing numbers of Australians cannot afford access to care when it is needed

Medicare is Australia’s universal health insurance scheme. It was introduced in 1984 to ensure that all Australians have access to medical and hospital care when they need it.

Medicare is based on several key principles:

Universality: all people have the same rights and entitlements to quality health care

Access: access to care is based on health needs, not ability to pay

Equity: funding is provided through the general taxation system including a Medicare levy based on income, and there is no or little cost to the patient at point of service

Efficiency: administrative costs and overheads are kept low by: collecting funds through the tax system (rather than individual payments at point of service), bulkbilling and limited advertising

Simplicity: no complicated insurance plans and easy claims process

Medicare is a reimbursement (or rebate) based system that covers medical and optometric services provided by private practitioners in the out of hospital and hospital settings. Through Medicare patients are also able to access public hospital inpatient, outpatient and emergency department services free of charge.

While strictly not part of Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), which has been in place since 1948, provides significant government subsidies for prescription drugs. The PBS is an essential cost container that is unique to Australia and is envied by most other countries.

Increasingly, Australians are experiencing difficulties accessing health care because of:

Inadequate funding of public health services

• health services struggle to meet demands and waiting lists grow
• over $2.3 billion every year goes into the private health insurance rebate but could go directly to the public health system with better value for money

Undermining of bulk billing

• GPs and specialists are abandoning, or threatening to abandon, universal bulk billing rates
• bulk billing has never been widely available in rural and regional areas

Increase in out-of-pocket expenses for consumers

• the out-of-pocket expense of seeing a non-bulk billing doctor has risen significantly in recent years, with the average patient contribution rising to $12.78
• consumer co-payments for prescription drugs have also increased
• many cannot afford to access appropriate care, e.g. services not covered by Medicare such as dental, podiatry, physio-therapy and nursing care.

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The Howard government’s plan to allow doctors to charge co-payments for formerly bulk-billed patients will end Medicare as we know it and allow fees to rise as never before. The push towards a "user pays" system in health is increasing, where health is seen as a private concern rather than a public responsibility. This will result in an "Americanisation" of the Australian health system.

Couldn’t happen here?

Before universal health care was introduced in Australia as Medibank (Medicare’s predecessor), uninsurance, under-insurance and hardship were common. We forget the injustices that existed before we had a universal health system funded through out taxation system. The shift towards a privatised health system is being fast-tracked.

The privatised US health system is characterised by:

Inequity

• around 44 million Americans have no access to health cover (8 out of 10 of these are workers or their dependents)
• another 38 million Americans are under-insured
• the poor and underprivileged are routinely denied access to appropriate health care
• inequality in health outcomes between rich and poor is the highest of all wealthy nations
• inability to pay medical bills has been the greatest cause of personal bankruptcy in the USA

Inefficiency

• the US system is more expensive and yet less effective
• the USA spends around 15% of their Gross Domestic Product on health compared to Australia’s 9.5% while health outcomes are consistently worse than other wealthy countries
• administrative and other costs are much higher in the USA compared to countries such as Canada, the UK and Australia

Currently in Australia significant power and money is being transferred to the private health insurance industry. The majority of Australians (56% of the population) do not have private insurance yet their taxes go towards providing a significant subsidy to those who do not. That is not fair.

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The Public Hospital Health and Medicare Alliance of Queensland is a coalition of consumers, trade unions, community organisations and health service providers raising community awareness, encouraging debate and lobbying on issues relating to public hospitals, public health services and Medicare.
PHHAMAQ is lobbying federal members of parliament and Senators. In particular, we are asking that they:

• oppose all government policy initiatives that will undermine the integrity, universality and ongoing viability of Medicare;
• support bulk billing for all Australians as a fundamental cornerstone of our health system;
• institute an independent national inquiry into the future of the Australian health system, so the community determines the type of health system that meets its needs;
• ensure no changes to Medicare until this national independent inquiry is finalised;
• ensure that the Australian government does not sign any international agreements, including trade agreements, which put our universal health care system or Medicare at risk of privatisation, foreign involvement or foreign ownership.

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The community has a crucial role to play in opposing the undermining of universal health care. This battle will be won by individuals acting in a collective manner. Politicians pay much more attention to individual constituents’ representations — after all they are elected by the people to represent them.

We recommend that members of the community take the following action:

• Attend rallies, community meeting, pickets and other events organised to protest against the Howard government’s proposed changes to Medicare.

• Sign petitions in support of Medicare and get your family and friends to do the same.

• Raise the issue at your local community, church, professional organisation or sporting group or trade union. Discuss your concerns and what can be done to address them with your family, friends and work mates. Organise a local campaign to lobby your Member of Parliament and Senators. Plan what you are going to do and arrange a roster for activities so that momentum is maintained and work is evenly shared.

• Arrange for delegations or individuals to visit the office of your local Federal member or Senator. Explain to your member from your own experience the effect this is having on you and your family. Ensure that you ask your local member to take action and request that they provide written confirmation of the action they are going to take. Advise them that you will continue to be in touch and that you require feedback from them.

• Follow up your visit with a letter to the member reminding them of what has been discussed and the undertakings they have given. If you cannot visit your politician in person at least write them a letter expressing your concerns.

Keep letters simple and from the heart. (Letters from individuals are far more effective than petitions or form letters. Click here for suggested letter formats.)

• Continue to lobby them when they are absent from home base — that is phone, write or fax them when Parliament is sitting. This will ensure they don’t forget about what is happening "in the real world" and importantly the undertakings they have previously given you.

• Be persistent and keep the pressure on — whether they are at their office or at Parliament House, politicians can not be allowed to forget the importance of this issue.

• If you are a member of a trade union or professional body make sure their office is kept informed of progress made in your campaigning. Let them know if you are seeing your local member, what their response was, and send them copies of any responses from politicians.

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• Keep your letter brief and to the point. Start by introducing yourself. (e.g. "I am a registered nurse employed part/full time at the XYZ Hospital.")

• Remind them you are a voter and that you are concerned (e.g. "I am a voter in your electorate and I am extremely concerned about proposed changes to Medicare.")

• Remind them about broken promises. (e.g. if you are writing to a Coalition member "Before each election Mr Howard promises that ‘no Australian would be worse off’ under your government. He also promised that Medicare would be retained.")

• Advise them how you have been affected. (eg "Since your government has been elected health care costs for my family have increased by $x per week." )

• Ask them to ensure the integrity, universality and ongoing viability of Medicare;

• Ask them to respond to your concerns.

• If you are writing to a Democrat, ALP, Green or Independent Senator ask them to ensure their party does not vote for any proposed policy change that will undermine the integrity, universality and ongoing viability of Medicare. Remind them of the important role they play in this regard. Remember some Senators, notably Democrat, Green and Independent Senators hold key positions of power in the Senate so should be particularly targeted for lobbying.

Suggested format for a letter to politicians

You are encouraged to use this suggested letter to you local federal MP and Queensland Senators. Alternatively you can select sections of this letter and add in information about your own personal experience (such as current difficulty experienced meeting health care costs). For example "Our family is already under severe financial stress and cannot always afford to access health services when needed because my GP no longer bulk bills. The gap that I now have to pay for an average GP visit is $x. It is also not uncommon that I cannot meet the costs of drugs required for treatment following a visit to the doctor. I am extremely concerned that this situation will worsen significantly if the Howard government’s proposed changes to Medicare are introduced."  Click here for a sample letter.

Click here for the contact list of Queensland Federal members.
Click here for the contact list of Queensland Senators.