The new federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has been left in no doubt about Australia’s doctors’ views on the need to lift the government’s freeze on Medicare rebates.
While welcomed to the job by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the AMA, Mr Hunt, who replaced Sussan Ley, heard the heads of both bodies say the freeze, which limits the amount reimbursed to GPs from the government at $37 per consultation, should be ended.
RACGP president Bastian Seidel described the appointment of a new minister as “a timely opportunity for the government to regroup and bolster its focus on general practice.”
Dr Seidel continued, “The provision of essential medical care for Australians has reached a crossroads and the nation’s general practice profession is at breaking point… Here is a fresh opportunity for the Federal Government to demonstrate once and for all it is committed to equity in health care and a general practice system accessible to all Australians.”
He said “the first and most effective move Minister Hunt should make is to heed the RACGP’s call to lift the Medicare freeze.”
According to Fairfax Media (19 Jan) Mr Hunt spoke within ten minutes of the prime Minister’s announcement of his appointment with AMA head Michael Gannon who spoke of GPs feeling “undervalued” and later said he believed Mr Hunt was receptive to ending the rebate freeze.
The aged-care portfolio, also held previously by Ms Ley, was allocated to WA MP Ken Wyatt, who has extensive experience in Aboriginal health administration in his home state and in NSW. He will have responsibility for aged care as well as Indigenous Health, making him the first Indigenous person to hold a federal ministry.
The importance of primary health care is also receiving high-level attention in the USA, not only because of Donald Trump’s views on ‘Obama-care’ but through a major article in The New Yorker this week by noted surgeon/author Atul Gawande. Dr Gawande writes of his changed view of primary care’s key role in the medical mix - "I finally had to submit. Primary care, it seemed, does a lot of good for people—maybe even more good, in the long run, than I will as a surgeon…"
General practice may not be as "sexy" as thoracic surgery but Gawande acknowledges the therapeutic effect of a strong patient / GP relationship will often catch the disease process early and obviate the need for heroic interventions.
Being good at being #JustAGP (as those who congregate on twitter will attest) is the most important factor in improving the health of the nation. Unfortunately, so far this argument has not moved Treasury.
