As the Federal Government stands firm on its controversial July 1 hits to primary care, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has set out a clear strategy for all stakeholders to collaborate and achieve real Medicare reform in its 2015-2016 pre-budget submission.
The RACGP maintains that the remaining elements of the government’s “A Strong and Sustainable Medicare” budget measure are unacceptable and will place momentous strain on patients, general practices and the broader healthcare sector, both now and into the future.
RACGP President Dr Frank R Jones said any policy that deters patients from visiting the GP will result in increased expenditure as hospital emergency departments become flooded with more complex patient presentations that could have been resolved or prevented in general practice for a fraction of the cost.
“The RACGP appreciates that there are opportunities to improve Medicare, but a freeze on rebates until 2018 and a price signal for GP services are not the answer to securing sustainable reform,” Dr Jones said.
“As it stands, the proposed changes set to be introduced on July 1 2015 pose a grave risk to patient safety, the general practice profession and health system at large.”
The RACGP has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to work alongside government to reach an outcome that benefits all stakeholders and its 2015-2016 pre-budget submission identifies a clear strategy to achieve this.
“We have reiterated the message time and time again that a high performing and properly resourced primary healthcare sector will address the failures of the current health system; it’s as simple as that,” said Dr Jones.
“We are demanding an immediate moratorium on the remaining budget measures outlined in A Strong and Sustainable Medicare and urge the government to work collaboratively with the profession when implementing reform that has wide-ranging impacts on patients and the delivery of GP services.
“The RACGP has also called for the establishment of a GP health reform advisory committee consisting of government, patient and GP representatives with a mandate to guide consultation with government and stakeholders.
“The advisory group will ensure all parties concerned have equal opportunity to help shape the future of primary healthcare in Australia through a formally recognised mechanism.”
The RACGP will continue to lead the debate against any cuts to general practice and urges the government to abandon its plans until the full consequences of any changes to primary care policy have been assessed.
The RACGP’s 2015–16 pre-budget submission can now be viewed in full on the RACGP website.