Australians Will Be Badly Hit By New Health Budget: AMA

Leaked budget measures reported in the media today will hit families hard.

“It seems the nightmare is coming true. The government is attempting to claw back its debt by savaging Australians support for health,” AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said.

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“The measures will dramatically increase the cost of private health insurance for Australian families.

“And those families that do not keep their private health insurance will pay more to join the queue in the public system.

“This is another lose-lose for Australians on health. Individuals earning more than $74,000 and families earning more than $150,000 a year will pay more either way. That’s a lot of Australians.

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“Yesterday’s budget speculation was that IVF will cost you more, having babies will cost more. Today it’s private health insurance.

“It looks like many Australians will be hit at least twice by health cuts in this budget.

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“Pre-election commitments to the private health insurance rebate and the Medicare safety net are now both set to be broken. What will be next?

“It’s seems clear that this Government plans to pay for its previous handouts by raking it back out of health.

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“And this couldn’t happen at a worse time for families. This is another big hit on family budgets. Australians now have another anxiety and loss of security when we are all deeply concerned about jobs, income security and the consequences of the global crisis.

“This is not the time for governments to be hitting health.”

Source-AMA
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