The proposed $15 Sick Tax for GP visits means that bulk billing patients — those Australians who can least afford it — will cop up to $1.4 billion per year in new GP fees. In certain electorates, this could mean communities coughing up as much as $20.5 million.1
Why? Because Treasurer Hockey says there are some government benefits Australians have "come to take for granted", and that "nothing is free".2
But the key fact missing is that we already contribute to Medicare out of each and every pay. And together, our contributions have built a universal Medicare system that's the envy of many around the world. That's why, in just a matter of days, nearly 70,000 Australians signed onto the petition to protect our Medicare.
According to press reports this week, political backlash to the Commission of Audit is being felt in the Liberal party room. So with just 3 days to Budget, this is our chance to tip things over the edge. The Government needs to hear from us now — and big, round numbers always make an impression.
Can you sign this urgent petition to protect our world class Medicare system and help us get to 100,000 signatures by Monday — the night before Budget?
https://getup.org.au/protectmedicare
Not only do we already pay for Medicare through the levy, one in four Australians pay more than $1000 every year in out-of-pocket healthcare costs, for things like medicine and specialist services.3 One study estimates that households now directly pay as much as 25% of the nation's health costs.4
So while the sick are made to suffer, one clear beneficiary of Abbott's "Sick Tax" will be the private healthcare lobby. It's no surprise then that the idea came straight from an industry funded think-tank.5
The Government's heard from the industry lobbyists — now it's time they hear from us, 100,000 strong. Together, we can send them a powerful message: a tax on the sick is political poison.
Click here to join the fight to protect Medicare and let our politicians know that Australians will not stand for profit-driven, US-style healthcare.
https://getup.org.au/protectmedicare
Charging someone for being sick would be the end of the Medicare system we know and love. GetUp member Jade said it best: "Being Australian is not about kicking someone while they're down!"
Let's drive the message home,
Sam, for the GetUp team
PS - To see what the proposed $15 Sick Tax would cost bulk billing patients in your electorate, check out the complete breakdown of our analysis at: https://getup.org.au/SickTaxMap.
PPS - Are you a GP? Or other health professional? We'd love to hear from you! Send a few sentences on why you think the Sick Tax is a terrible idea to: medicare@getup.org.au.
[1] For full electorate-based data, including sources, on the cost of the Sick Tax for bulk billing patients, go to https://getup.org.au/SickTaxMap.
[2] Treasurer Joe Hockey warns of tougher means testing ahead of Commission of Audit's release, ABC News, 24 April 2014
[3] Curing Medicare's malaise, Australian Financial Review, 23 April 2014
[4] Mind the gap: $6 GP visit proposal ignores the evidence, The Conversation, 9 January 2014
[5] The end of Medicare as we know it, ABC News, 6 January 2014
