Seniors worst hit by $7 co-payment, inquiry told
The Federal Government’s plans to introduce a $7 Medicare co-payment will hit older Australians the hardest, a senate inquiry into out of pocket health costs has heard.
The Federal Government’s plans to introduce a $7 Medicare co-payment will hit older Australians the hardest, a senate inquiry has heard.
Seniors peak bodies COTA Australia and National Seniors told a public hearing on Tuesday older people were already struggling to meet high out-of-pocket healthcare costs and an additional charge would place an unreasonable burden on many seniors.
COTA Australia told the committee older Australians would be disproportionately affected because of the “triple whammy” effect of age, low income and chronic disease.
The Abbott Government announced a $7 Medicare co-payment for all GP visits and pathology tests and X-rays, along with significant increases to co-payments for pharmaceuticals in its Federal Budget in May. However, the legislation is yet to be considered by the Senate.
COTA’s policy manager Jo Root told the committee the peak body had received a flood of calls post the budget announcement from seniors worried about how they would meet their healthcare costs.
She said:
“There was a lot of media speculation of MBS and PBS co-payments and we started to get a steady stream of people with concerns about what it would mean for them, how they were going to pay for them and on the quality of their life. When the budget was brought down that stream turned to a flood.”
There was considerable confusion among older people about when the GP co-payment would be in place and whether they should start reconsidering visiting the doctor or filling their medication scripts, Ms Root said.
“We think that any additional co-payment for GPs or for the PBS will just make their decision-making more difficult about whether they get a procedure or whether they don’t.”’
National Seniors Australia senior policy advisor Marie Skinner told the hearing that while the organisation had originally backed the idea of a $6 GP co-payment with an adequate safety net, the government’s plan had gone too far.
Ms Skinner said:
“We didn’t propose that being extended to all the GP-referred services and we think that is going to place considerable pressure on people’s currently stretched finances. We are concerned by the extent of the co-payments – they go well beyond what our members said they might be willing to pay.”
She said that while the government’s $20 billion medical research fund was important and worthwhile work it should not be funded at the expense of vulnerable people in the community.
Patrick Tobin, policy director at Catholic Health Australia, told the hearing pathology services associated with their hospital members had reported a significant drop in tests shortly after the budget announcement.
“There is quite a cohort in the community that is very sensitive to very small price changes, so I think whatever ends up going through senate, we actually do need to monitor the impact very carefully,” Mr Tobin said.
People on low incomes would most likely be deterred by the introduction of a price signal, he added.
Other issues raised with the inquiry into out of pocket costs in Australian healthcare included transport costs related to seeking healthcare and access to affordable dental care, especially in residential aged care.
