Candidate attends bulk billing meeting

Labor candidate for Robertson Ms Belinda Neal attended a public meeting on health issues at the Woy Woy Leagues Club on Monday, November 5.

Save Medicare and Retain Total Bulk Bill Services (SMARTS) secretary Mr Chris Osborne said that all candidates for the seat of Robertson were invited to address the meeting.

He said only Ms Neal attended, with an apology from Greens candidate Mira Wroblewski, who had suffered a weekend injury.

"Local Liberal member Jim Lloyd did not reply to the invitation," Mr Osborne said.

Items discussed at the meeting included the issue of more doctors for the Central Coast and the reinstatement of the National Dental Health Scheme.

"What people don't realise is that the supply of doctors in a region has a direct impact on bulk billing rates, and the ability of those doctors to take on new patients", Mr Osborne said.

"A lack of adequate numbers of GPs also means long waiting lists for appointments, closed books for new patients, and overcrowding at local emergency departments of our public hospitals".

Mr Osborne said there were indications that bulk billing rates would start to fall again over the next 12 months because the Medicare rebate had not risen significantly enough to cover doctor's costs, so local GPs may be forced to start introducing surcharges for pensioners, similar to what happened in 1999.

"It is also a fact that the Federal Government controls the numbers of funded places for medical students in Universities, and the number of service provider numbers that are released annually", Mr Osborne said.

"All of these factors contribute to the undersupply of doctors in the crucial rural and provincial regions like the Central Coast."

SMARTS was originally set up in 1999, and was active up to 2001, based mainly in the Hunter, but also held rallies on the Central Coast, campaigning to arrest the decline in bulk billing rates.

The group was reformed a few months ago due to a continuing concern over the lack of GPs in the Central Coast and Hunter regions, and to lobby for the re-instatement of the National Dental Health Scheme for pensioners and low income earners.

Press release, 6 Oct 2007 Chris Osborne, SMARTS