The Labor Party is simply “throwing money” at Australia’s universal healthcare program Medicare with its near $1 billion (US$700 million) election funding pledge, which one Howard-era advisor says will do little to reform the system despite the hefty price tag.
In an announcement on May 14, the centre-left Labor Party followed up its pledge to “strengthen Medicare” early in the election campaign with a $750 million and $220 million funding proposal to address supposed “rolling cuts and attacks” by the Morrison government.
The $750 million will be spent over a three-year period and aims to deliver improved patient access to GPs, increase affordability, “better management” of complex conditions, and to decrease pressure on hospitals.
No further details were provided by Labor on how these goals would be achieved, with the party saying it would work with a newly created taskforce chaired by the health minister and representatives from major medical bodies, including the Australian Medical Association and Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
Under its $220 million pledge, local GPs will also be eligible for funding grants of $25,000 and $50,000 (if it is a larger practice) to pay for things like upgrading IT systems, upskilling staff, purchasing new equipment, upgrading ventilation and infection control, and other improvements to ensure GPs “can see more patients and provide better care.”
“General practice is the cornerstone of the Australian health system,” according to the federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese in a statement. “Australians trust their GPs. It’s a vital relationship in ensuring all Australians get the quality healthcare they deserve.”
Terry Barnes, former senior advisor to two health ministers under former Prime Minister John Howard, said successive governments pledged similar funding proposals but they were “nothing new.”
“Albanese is a bit like Dr. Frankenstein, he likes to bolt things on to Medicare to make it more alive,” he told The Epoch Times. “The reality is that simply tinkering with Medicare makes no difference. Just throwing money at Medicare to show you care for Medicare is not policy.”
Barnes said the GP grants program would do little to actually expand the private GP network and called it a “churning investment.”
“It’s not anything [new] other than putting more money into doctors’ pockets,” he added, noting as well that the proposed taskforce comprised of several medical bodies highlighted just how influential medical unions were on government health policy.
“Both government and opposition won’t scratch themselves without checking with the president of the Australian Medical Association first when it comes to health policy,” Barnes said.
Australia’s public health system is dealing with ongoing delays and ambulance ramping issues—the time patients spend waiting outside a hospital in an ambulance.
The causes, however, run deeper than funding, with the country’s ageing population contributing to an increase in more complex medical conditions and longer treatment times.
At the same time, competing interests and poor management have contributed to weaker outcomes for patients.
Ramping in Queensland was previously brought under control by the former premier and now-Senate candidate for the Liberal Democrats, Campbell Newman, who managed to bring ambulance ramping down to zero during his time in charge.
However, for Newman, it involved significant confrontations with the medical unions, as the former Queensland premier had to shift doctors onto new contracts tied to performance metrics—a move that saw threats of mass resignation.
Upon Newman’s defeat at the 2015 state election, the incoming Labor government promptly reversed his reforms, which now has allowed ambulance ramping to proliferate again.
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