Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a three-minute statement.

Alan Ferguson (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for three minutes.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The additional information incorporated by Senator Faulkner in Hansard today after question time on cataract surgery rebates through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs has completely exposed the hypocrisy of the Rudd government when it comes to its approach to cataract surgery rebates. The minister has essentially confirmed that the Rudd government has increased rebates for cataract surgery through its DVA schedule at the same time as the Minister for Health and Ageing is pushing ahead—in defiance of the Senate, I might add—with a massive 46 per cent reduction in patient rebates through Medicare for the exact same procedure. The Senate have opposed the 50 per cent reduction in patient rebates through Medicare because we think it will hurt patients. It will impose significant additional out-of-pocket expenses on mostly elderly patients for what is life-changing surgery. It will push many thousands of them into the public system where the taxpayers have to pick up the whole bill of $3,500. So the government is proposing to save $286 in order to force the taxpayer to pick up a bill for $3,500. Of course, many thousands of Australians will not be able to get into the public system and will not be able to afford access anymore because of the out-of-pocket expenses the Rudd government is imposing on this vulnerable group of senior Australians.

This is quite extraordinary. I might add that the coalition—and, I dare say, the Senate—support the approach of the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs. He has taken a very sensible approach to this. I urge senators to read the statement, which has been incorporated by Senator Faulkner, where he points out that the fees through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs were set in consultation with the profession and gave consideration to the average fees paid by private health insurers. He should have added that it gave consideration to a combination of the MBS rebate plus rebates paid by health funds.

Look at the Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon. She has been out there demonising ophthalmologists. She has been talking about those ‘wealthy specialists’. She has been running the greedy doctors argument. She has been running an argument that the cut in the Medicare patient rebate is justified because the procedure is now ‘quick and easy’ and, as such, it is quite appropriate for the Commonwealth to reduce the Medicare rebate by 50 per cent. That argument has now been shot to pieces. The statement today by Senator Faulkner exposes the hypocrisy of this. The Rudd government is schizophrenic on the cataract surgery rebate issue, and elderly Australians have to pay the price for Labor’s reckless spending.