This problem started with the Morrison government cutting specialist services funded by Medicare to five a year. So that’s who’s responsible for creating it.
The current government, which has been in for two terms now, have done nothing about it. Butler can whine as much as he likes but Labor have handed out a 120 billion dollar tax cut.
So they’ve had plenty of time and we have plenty of money to fix it.
I'd argue it's even deeper than this. This is just naturally what happens under a privatised health system. Doctors charging whatever they like because there aren't enough public specialists and so the queue is long.
I'd argue we need to end the rebate system, either you go be private and get absolutely zero from the government, and keep the laws in place that make it impossible for private health insurance to cover these visits too (I'm against any private health, but trying to make it more palatable of a change).
Everyone else, should join the public system, which we should properly fund, and they can collectively bargain for better conditions like any other public servant.
Keep wages and conditions competitive so we don't lose people to overseas too much.
This subsidy system is always gonna have this stupid cat and mouse of rebates not keeping up with the market rates of what doctors are charging.
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