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Articles on Medicare reform

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Non-concession patients may end up paying a A$30 to A$40 co-payment, not a A$5 one. Pete/Shutterstock

$5 Medicare rebate cut could cost patients up to $40 more

The Christmas-New Year silly season gave Australia three health policies. At the start of December, the policy from the 2014 budget was still on life support. But in mid-December, then-health minister…
We need a plan to provide patients with the right care at the right place in the right time. AAP/Alan Porritt

Shaping 2015: Time to go back to the drawing board on health

As the 2015 parliamentary year approaches, The Conversation is examining five key policy areas that have a new minister in charge: health, immigration, defence, social services and science. Today we begin…
The AMA described the proposed reimbursement changes for level B consultations as “an assault on general practice”. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

The AMA and Medicare: a love-hate relationship

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has emerged from the recent brouhaha over the Abbott government’s proposed Medicare reforms as both a winner in the protection of doctors’ incomes and an apparent…
A blueprint for Medicare reform must include cost control, but also support quality and equity. Dave Hunt/AAP

New funding models are a long-term alternative to Medicare co-payments

The Abbott government is struggling with its Medicare co-payment reform, scrapping the latest version for a period of consultation, starting this week. The government claims it wants to make Medicare sustainable…
The Coalition government’s proposed changes to Medicare have never managed to garner public favour. AAP/Peter Boyle

Autopsy of a dead policy: government shelves impending Medicare change

The government has backed down from its plan to cut Medicare rebates to doctors, which was to start on Monday, January 19, after several days of public pressure. For those not au fait with the world of…
If you don’t have a concession card and are usually bulk billed, you may face a A$5 co-payment, or more. Image Point Fr/Shutterstock

Medicare co-payment: what the changes mean for you

The Abbott government has scrapped its controversial A$7 co-payment plan and replaced it with a A$5 cut to GP rebates for patients over 16 without a concession card, and other rebate changes. The revised…
We’re unlikely to solve persistent challenges to the health system, such as ensuring equitable access to well-coordinated care, with quick fixes. AAP Image/Quentin Jones

The state of Australia: health

In the lead-up to the budget, the story of crisis has been hammered home, but there’s more to a country than its structural deficit. So how is Australia doing overall? In this special series, ten writers…
‘Going private’ may speed up your time to treatment, but Medicare shouldn’t pick up the tab. Shutterstock

Want Medicare savings? Stop paying for private hospitals

The polls this week suggest half of Australians think the Abbott government should reduce the cost of Medicare. My solution? Claw back some of the A$9 billion the government pays to private hospitals…
Rather than looking back, we need to decide on the future foundations of Australia’s health system. Image from shutterstock.com

On being treated well: reforming Medicare after 30 years

Treasurer Joe Hockey and health minister Peter Dutton have been in overdrive this past week lowering expectations for the May budget and reminding Australians that its 30-year-old Medicare system is “unsustainable…
Medicare guarantees free public hospital care and funds a range of primary care and other health services. Image from shutterstock.com

Explainer: what is Medicare and how does it work?

Medicare is Australia’s universal health scheme. It is a Commonwealth government program that guarantees all citizens (and some overseas visitors) access to a wide range of health services at little or…
Some Australians are struggling to get timely access to affordable health care. AAP Image/Dave Hunt

Medicare turns 30 and begins to show signs of ageing

Tomorrow marks an important Australian milestone: 30 years of Medicare and the guarantee of universal access to health care. Before Medicare, it was not that uncommon for people to avoid using health-care…
More and more women are going under the knife in search of the ‘perfect’ vagina. Flickr/Hey Paul Studios

Who really pays for designer vaginas?

Increasing numbers of Australian women are asking their doctors for a designer vagina. So many, in fact, that the government is reviewing whether such surgery should be publicly-funded via Medicare. Over…
The health budget isn’t limitless: decisions have to be made about to how to allocate funding between competing choices. AAP/Dave Hunt

Health funding under the microscope – but what should we pay for?

In the sixth part of our series Health Rationing, Mark Mackay examines the latest think tank blueprint to rein in Australia’s rising health costs. But he warns that before funding models are adjusted…
One of the problems with Medicare is that it has become locked in place. AAP

Look beyond the hype to see what’s really wrong with Medicare

The debate about Medicare has received a new focus with comments from Dr Tony Webber, the former director of the Professional Services Review – the body that regulates success to Medicare and Pharmaceutical…
Is the Medicare model suitable for a population with increasingly complex health-care needs? AAP

Medicare rort claims: experts respond

Medicare is again in the news after the former director of the Professional Services Review (PSR) Dr Tony Webber published an article critical of its workings in today’s Medical Journal of Australia (MJA…

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