Better health and ageing for all Australians

Media Releases

Labor must withdraw misleading Medicare advertisement

The Labor Party must withdraw its Medicare television advertisement because it makes false claims.

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3 August 2003

Labor must withdraw misleading Medicare advertisement

The Labor Party must withdraw its Medicare television advertisement because it makes false claims.

The Labor Party is claiming in its advertisement, which is scheduled to go to air tonight, that its Medicare promises are fully funded.

They are not.

Opposition Leader Simon Crean's own budget reply shows that he has a $459 million funding black hole in his unaffordable and undeliverable Medicare proposal.

People have a right to know how Mr Crean proposes to pay for his proposal. For nearly two years, Labor has refused to tell the Australian public if it will retain the 30% Private Health Insurance Rebate, which delivers $750, on average, to the family budget.

If Labor scraps the Rebate it will be a $750 a year tax rise for Australian families.

People have a right to know if Labor is going to increase the Medicare levy to pay for their expensive promises. A half a percentage point rise in the levy would cost a family with household income of $70,000 a year an extra $350 a year.

Under Labor families face a double tax hit of $1000 or more a year to pay for its unaffordable and undeliverable Medicare promises.

The Coalition's A Fairer Medicare is affordable and responsible. The package:

  • Increases the number of doctors and directs resources to where they are needed. There will be 234 more medical places a year and an extra 150 GP training places targeted to areas of workforce shortage, particularly outer-metropolitan and rural areas.
  • Gives doctors financial incentives to provide care at no cost to patients covered by a Commonwealth concession card.
  • Makes it more convenient if the doctor chooses not to bulk bill some patients - as they do now. The patients will only have to pay the gap between the Medicare rebate and the doctor's fee. They will not have to go to a Medicare office to collect their rebate.
  • Introduces two new safety nets to give all Australians peace of mind that they are protected against high out-of-pocket expenses incurred out of hospital. This includes the costs of specialists, pathology and diagnostic services under Medicare when performed out of hospital.

Media inquiries: Randal Markey, Media Adviser, Senator Patterson's office, 02 6277 7220.