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Funds needed ... doctors want any savings from a Medicare review spent on new treatments. Source: Getty Images
TREASURER Joe Hockey said it was going to find a cure for cancer but nearly 12 months after it was announced the government’s $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund has not been set up.
And now doctors are at war with Health Minister Sussan Ley over whether new savings in health to be announced in next month’s budget should go into the fund.
Ms Ley told Sky News earlier this week any savings from her recently announced review of Medicare rebates would go into the fund.
“If there are savings it will go into the Medical Research Future Fund, as we promised in the last budget,†Ms Ley told Sky News.
AMA president Dr Brian Owler says he has had an assurance from Health Minister Sussan Ley that the savings will be spent on funding new treatments under Medicare like bariatric surgery for the obese.
Anger ... doctors are at war with Health Minister Sussan Ley. Source: News Corp Australia
“If there are savings identified through the review these would be reinvested into health rather than all going off to the Medical Research Future Fund,†he said.
It is possible the government could do both, funding any new treatments the review recommends are rebated by Medicare from cutting or restricting outdated or unnecessary medical services.
If the savings identified by the review exceed the costs of any new treatments added to Medicare there may be savings left that could be put into a medical research fund.
“I haven’t set an overall savings target for this process because it’s patient focused and if there happens to be money left over at the end then we will cross that bridge when we come to it, but until then there’s little point playing hypotheticals,†Ms Ley said.
Surgery ... Associate Professor Brian Owler says he has been told the savings will be spent on funding new treatments. Source: News Corp Australia
The government has already made billions of dollars in cuts to health programs that were earmarked to go into the fund but almost a year after it was announced it has not been set up.
This is even though the first $20 million worth of grants under the program were slated to be awarded from July.
The fund was a key element in the government’s plan to sell to the public its unpopular GP announced in last year’s budget.
The size of the fund is expected to be slashed by 40 per cent after the government abandoned its GP copayment that would have delivered $3.5 billion in savings to be put in the fund.
It has also abandoned it increase on the prescription copayment that would have put another $1.3 billion in savings into the fund.
But $1 billion in uncommitted funds from the Health and Hospitals Fund are waiting to go into the fund, $1.8 billion in savings from public hospitals are underway and the $1.7 billion in savings from pausing indexation of Medicare rebates are being realised.
Minister for Health Sussan Ley said the Government remained committed to delivering the MRFF.
“Like our full review of Medicare items, the Medical Research Future Fund is a valuable part of our plan to deliver a smarter investment in improving health outcomes for all Australians,†Ms Ley said.
“If the fund is so important why hasn’t it yet been established because we know the savings measures have already been instituted,†Dr Owler said.
Opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King said “this is just further evidence of the complete chaos that passes for health policy from this government.
“The minister made clear on Monday all MBS savings would be invested in the MRFF, now she’s telling the doctors something completely different,†she said.