Australia’s leading health bodies have joined together to reject the Government’s proposed plan to implement a co-payment system for general practice services.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and the Consumer Health Forum of Australia (CHF) are calling on the Government to seriously consider the implications a co-payment system will place on Australian’s ability to access clinically appropriate and timely healthcare services.
The Commission of Audits recommendation for a co-payment has been made with no clear evidence of unnecessary or inappropriate utilisation of GP services.
Both the general practice profession and consumers have demonstrated strong disapproval of the Government’s proposed co-payment model, yet the Government continues to imply its implementation as part of the impending Federal budget announcement.
Yesterday the Commission of Audit released a number of controversial recommendations for Government consideration, including one that proposes patients be charged up to $15 to access general practice services.
Australia currently has the fifth-highest out-of-pocket health costs in the world, with the average Australian paying $1075 per year in out-of-pocket expenses1.
This model erodes universal access for all Australians. Many consumers– often those with the greatest healthcare needs and the least capacity to pay for services – already face multiple barriers to accessing primary healthcare services, including rising out-of-pocket expenses.
Providing disincentives to seeking care from a GP at an early stage is likely to increase the need for hospitalisations with far greater associated health costs.
Although public-hospital emergency departments are frequently under immense strain, less than 5% of patients presenting at an emergency department should have instead presented to a general practitioner.
Australian patients are currently well versed as to when to present to an emergency department and when it is appropriate to see a GP. A general practice co-payment would be an incentive to seek primary healthcare in the wrong place – an overcrowded emergency department.
This issue is further compounded by a Commission of Audit recommendation to introduce an equivalent co-payment for emergency room presentations that could have been resolved at a general practice level.
The implementation of such a scheme is likely to cost more than it generates, and risks consumers potentially not seeking treatment for acute conditions that may be serious.
The report also detailed a co-payment to be added to all medications obtained through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS); with this co-payment would only be reduced by 50% once the safety net threshold is reached.
Australians should feel confident in accessing primary healthcare services and prescribed medicines – regardless of location, cost and timing. If the Government is serious about providing a health system that supports “those with the most need” it should reconsider all co-payment proposals.
Australia’s peak health bodies encourage the Government to consult with the health profession and consumers before it considers any proposal that will have a profound impact on the health of all Australians.
1Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2012. Health expenditure Australia 2010–11. Health and welfare expenditure series no. 47. Cat. no. HWE 56. Canberra: AIHW.