Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to continue my contribution to this debate, a contribution I started last night. The Health Insurance Amendment (Safety Net) Bill 2015 has been put to the parliament and the people of Australia as a simplification of the safety net. This simplification involves abolishing the existing original Medicare Safety Net and extending it in a new Medicare Safety Net.

Labor has some real concerns about these changes and the impact they will have on thousands of Australians. Although the bill lowers the threshold level at which a patient's out-of-pocket expenses qualify them for access to the safety net, the amount a patient receives back—the amount all Australians receive back once they reach the safety net—is reduced. So Australians will be receiving less. Labor is concerned about the impact these changes will have in a number of areas. I will touch on that a little later.

The Turnbull-Abbott government do not support universal health care. Each and every day in this parliament we have seen them attack Medicare. Their lack of support for universal health care is evident from their attempts to introduce a GP tax—and now they are introducing a GP tax by stealth by freezing the rebate—and through their shifting of costs. This legislation is shifting costs from the government to the individual. This means, as I have already stated, it is going to increase out-of-pocket costs for every Australian who reaches the safety net. It will have the greatest impact on those on fixed and lower incomes—and that is what we find with just about every piece of legislation that this government introduces into the parliament. They are shifting the cost to those who can least afford it. This legislation will have the greatest impact on those who are least able to pay.

We have acknowledged that the new Medicare Safety Net has lowered the threshold for all patients, as I have already stated—but there are specific concerns. Those specific concerns relate to a number of areas. One is people who are having treatment for cancer. It has been very graphically described and identified that people with malignant melanoma are facing out-of-pocket costs of up to $7,400, and that cost is $8,000 for Australians having radiotherapy for prostate cancer. When a person is having intensive psychotherapy their out-of-pocket costs will skyrocket. An online petition has even been run in relation to that. Looking at IVF, there are inputs and costs for women who are undertaking fertility treatment.

The original Medicare Safety Net was set at $440.80 from January 2015 and it provides an additional rebate for out-of-hospital services when the sum of the difference between the MBS fee and the MBS rebate reaches a threshold. The Medicare benefit payable to the patient is $156 once a patient reaches that safety net and it is increased to 100 per cent of the scheduled fee rather than 85 per cent. Under the new scheme, the threshold will increase to $638 for concession card holders and $2,000 for all other singles and families.

This safety net was introduced in 2004 and it has helped a number of people over the years. On this side of the House we have real problems with legislation that is changing it and increasing the out-of-pocket costs for Australians. I am going to refer to a source that I do not usually use—that is, the Daily Telegraph. The Daily Telegraph on 31 October identified:

Nearly 800,000 Australians with high medical bills will get back less from the Medicare safety net when they visit GPs and specialists under controversial changes.

Note the words 'controversial changes'. Also, the article identifies that it will hit the chronically ill, pregnant women, cancer patients and anyone who uses the system to help with their out-of-pocket expenses. Let us get this straight: the people who will be impacted on the most are the sickest and those people who can least afford it. The net payout for specialists will see out-of-pocket expenses increase from $88 to $94 and out-of-pocket costs for non-bulk-billing GPs will rise from $7.60 to $19.47. Cancer patients and new mums who rely on the safety net will once again have a greater out-of-pocket expense. At a time when you are really sick or having a baby, to have to have these exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses is unconscionable.

It is interesting to note that one of the most common complaints I receive in relation to private health insurance and medical bills is about the out-of-pocket expenses that patients incur. The safety net has assisted and will, to a certain extent, assist people who have large out-of-pocket expenses.

What this is doing is going to make it harder. And what it can lead to, too, is people getting sicker—because if you cannot afford to have the treatment what do you do? You go without it. Women needing IVF treatment and cancer people can face up to $15,000 out-of-pocket expenses, and cancer patients will have their out-of-pocket costs for lifesaving radiation treble, up to $12,000. These are figures I am taking from the Daily Telegraph, which is a paper that is generally supportive of changes that this government would introduce. I really think that the government needs to actually consult with a few people, a few organisations—maybe even consult with the AMA, because the AMA is not at all supportive. Brian Owler from the AMA was very, very critical of this change to the safety net.

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