middle australia-watch out on medicare

Extract Sydney Morning Herald:

"Health Minister Peter Dutton has also signalled that Medicare could be means-tested with access to bulk-billing and medical tests such as X-rays, blood tests limited to those on lower incomes, in a News Corp report.

Mr Dutton questioned why those on higher incomes should be able to go to the doctor ''for free'' and said it was ''one of the discussions . . . we have to have''.But doctors have warned that the fee would lead more patients to seek treatment in overcrowded emergency departments including those with conditions that had deteriorated because of deferred care.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten slammed the proposals on Friday, saying that people should be able to get ''the health care they need, not the health care they can afford'' and said Australians did not want to go down the path of the American model.

Australasian College of Emergency Medicine president Anthony Cross said any disincentive to see a GP would send patients elsewhere.
''EDs [emergency departments] do have a reputation of being able to see and treat anything - there is a sense of a one-stop shop - so if they have to pay $6 that might sway people to come to an ED,'' he said."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australia-running-out-of-money-for-medicare-says-treasurer-joe-hockey-20140221-335j0.html#ixzz2tumXFT5H