Australians have lost more than $8bn in medical rebates, a leading doctor has warned, as Medicare remains frozen at pre-2000 levels.
Australian Medical Association president Stephen Robson revealed many rebates remained pegged to prices paid for during the Hawke era.
“Almost 40 years ago, the rebates offered to Australians reflected the cost of providing services,” Dr Robson said.
“Well, times have changed and the Medicare rebates never kept up with inflation – the pathology sector has not seen rebates rise since 1999.
“This neglect has left patients and practises with ever-increasing costs, while Australians are battling more and more chronic conditions.”
As a result, Mr Robson said patients had been underfunded by more than $8.6bn in rebates just for money back on GP consultation fees.
The bleak finding comes as the AMA president called on the Labor government to rethink its relationship with health investment.
Speaking at the National Press Club, Dr Robson said there was evidence health investment led to better economic outcomes.
“It’s time to change the narrative around investing in health,” Dr Robson said.
“Health should not just be seen as a spending portfolio, it should be seen as a productivity portfolio.”
Dr Robson lauded the government for introducing tighter controls on vapes, which he said would have a positive long-term economic impact.
Following legislative changes on e-cigarettes, which were supported by the AMA, Dr Robson said the agency was now taking on sugary drinks.
Dr Robson said a potential sugar tax was a “win, win, win” for governments.
“A sugar tax is smart policy that raises revenue, saves lives, and saves healthcare dollars,” Dr Robson said.
“Modelling suggests that a tax on sugary drinks would result in 16,000 fewer cases of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
“That would generate $800m in revenue for the government over forward estimates.”
Dr Robson said the idea was “ripe to adopt” if there was the political will to do so.
But, after talking with political leaders, he said it was up to health experts to help politicians “sell” health investment.
“At the end of the day they (politicians) want to be re-elected,” Dr Robson said.
“We have to make sure that when politicians go to their constituencies that they talk about the things that are important to them.
“And, when we survey people, we actually know that health is really important to people, so we have to build a narrative around that (…) not what is important to big business or lobbies.”
Dr Robson’s speech – aimed at shifting the “sick care system” to a healthcare system – coincided with a new AMA health report.
He touched on a range of health factors in Australia, including impacts from an ageing population and lagging private health insurance take-up.
He told reporters the number of people suffering chronic illness was on the rise in Australia, with the nation slipping in health rankings.
“We are at risk from an already strained health system cracking under further pressure,” Dr Robson said.
“As public hospitals struggle with an unprecedented backlog, many Australians have begun to take out private health insurance again.
“Its fool’s gold because as cost of living pressures bit harder you can be sure the struggle to get people into private health insurance will return.”
Dr Robson also warned that the ramifications from the Covid pandemic were far from over.
He said “20,000 more people died in (Australia in) 2022 than we would have expected to have died had there not been a pandemic”.