BY CHRIS SLEE
MELBOURNE — Two-hundred people attended a rally to defend and extend Medicare on October 3. Victorian Trades Hall Council president and Textile Clothing and Footwear Union state secretary Michele O'Neil told the rally that the federal government has begun to dismantle Medicare, citing the declining number of doctors who bulk-bill.
Martin Kingham, the state secretary of the Construction, Forestry Mining and Energy Union, said the fight to defend and extend Medicare is a trade union issue. "We pay taxes to fund health care, but the government spends money attacking asylum seekers, the people of Iraq and unions such as the CFMEU". He noted that Tony Abbott, who had been leading the attack on the CFMEU, is now minister for leading the attack on Medicare. "We will continue to fight him", Kingham said. He promised that construction workers from city building sites would join the next Medicare rally on November 7.
Steve Jolly from the Melbourne electorate Defend and Extend Medicare (DEM) warned that the government is planning to attack the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and predicted that this would lead to patients having to pay up to $70 for a script. The Melbourne DEM group has collected 10,000 signatures on a petition, Jolly reported.
Ged Cowin, the assistant federal secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation, reported that there are increased waiting times in hospital emergency departments because people can't afford to see a general practitioner.
Tim Woodruff, president of the Doctors Reform Society, said that Medicare is being "slowly strangled". He pointed out that the inadequacy of the federal government's aged care policies mean that many old people are in hospital waiting for nursing home care. Federal government subsidies to private hospitals have caused some doctors and nurses to move from public to private hospitals. The medical indemnity crisis suits the federal Coalition government because it weakens public hospitals.
Woodruff said that Canberra's proposed changes to Medicare will lead to a "three-tiered health system". The rich will be able to pay for high-quality health care, pensioners may get free treatment but with worse service because they can't pay, and in the middle are those who will face ever-increasing co-payments.
Woodruff pointed out that in the US, it can cost $100 to see a GP, while drugs to treat chronic diseases can cost between $500 and $1000 per month. The most common cause of personal bankruptcy in the US is health costs. On average, US citizens die younger than Australians.
Woodruff argued for the removal of Prime Minister John Howard's government and for the "alternative government" to be convinced "to spend taxes on the public sector rather than the private sector". He argued that the private health insurance rebate should be abolished.
Joe Toscano, a joint coordinator of DEM Australia, advocated "collective action" to change society and government policy. "We can only do it when we come out on the streets", he said.
Chris Slee from the Wills DEM group called for extending Medicare to cover dentistry, podiatry, physiotherapy and other services. He also argued for an expansion of community heath centres with salaried doctors. He criticised the ALP for not talking about the extension of Medicare, and for refusing to commit itself to abolishing the private health insurance rebate and redirecting the money saved to the public sector.
From Green Left Weekly, October 15, 2003.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.