Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before the election, we had many promises from the Prime Minister and the shadow minister for health, now the Minister for Health. They claimed that there would be no reductions in Medicare Locals, there would be no cuts, there would be no changes. What a sorry state after the election and after the budget.

What we see now is that all Medicare Locals are going to face the axe and that they are going to take them from 61 Medicare Locals down to what we think will be between 15 and 20 primary healthcare networks. There is no understanding about what is happening in this space but we do know the Medicare Locals will cease to exist on 1 July 2015.

I recently met with my local Medicare Local, the Inner East Melbourne Medicare Local, and I understand the member for Deakin had also taken the opportunity to be in touch with this great organisation. I am very concerned about what will happen to this fantastic health provider in my electorate that recently put out a press release stating quite clearly:

Evidence shows that primary health care is significantly more cost effective than hospital-based care. This change increases the risk that people won't tackle health issues proactively and will require increased care through hospitals.

That is the point. Reducing the functions of Medicare Locals will put pressure back on hospitals. We now know that Medicare Locals will go out to tender and they could go to private health providers. We are going down the track very rapidly of a two-tiered American system of health if we allow this to happen.