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Victorians out of pocket $1bn from low Medicare rebates
03 November 2010.
The Commonwealth Government’s failure to adequately index Medicare rebates has left Victorians with $1 billion of out of pocket costs for medical consultations, according to AMA Victoria.
"Medicare rebates increased by just 1.8 per cent on 1 November and after many years of below-inflation increases, the Medicare gap payment in Victoria has reached $1 billion for the first time ever," AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said.
Dr Hemley explained Medicare fees charged in Victoria in 2009-10 were $4 916.61 million, while the Medicare rebates paid in Victoria in 2009-10 only amounted to $3 914.077 million. "That's a gap of $1 billion," he said.
"The Commonwealth Government needs to look seriously at the increased cost of living and increase patients’ rebates for seeing their doctor. If Medicare rebates don’t rise with the cost of living then patients will be further and further out of pocket.
"When Medicare was introduced back in 1984 rebates covered 85 per cent of a doctor’s fee. Now they cover only around 50 per cent. The Government has failed to index the Medicare rebate over many years and that has cost Victorians $1 billion in out of pocket expenses.
"Medicare was designed as a vehicle for universal access to quality health care. If the Government wants to shirk its responsibility for health care and transfer costs to the patient in out of pocket expenses, it needs to make these plans known."
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