CHANGES to Medicare are to blame for pressures forcing Werribee Mercy Hospital to turn away expectant mothers, according to the state government.
Health Minister David Davis said the hospital was unable to meet demand because expectant mothers were being priced out of private care, after a 2010 federal government move to trim Medicare rebates for private obstetrics.
Addressing State Parliament last week, he said factors driving women away from private care included a downturn in the economy and federal changes to the Medicare safety net, which had increased out-of-pocket costs for women seeing private obstetricians.
He referred to a report from the National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which said Medicare cuts meant women were paying between $3000 and $7000 for private care, up from about $2500 before 2010.
But Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the federal government was making record investment in Victorian hospitals. She accused the state government of blame-shifting, saying more money was flowing from the federal government and more people were taking up health insurance. “…we’re investing an additional $16.4 billion around the nation and Victoria is getting its fair share of that. On private health insurance, the last quarter was the biggest quarter of growth in private health insurance since five years ago,” she said.
Australian Medical Association state branch president, Dr Stephen Parnis, said the state government needed to stop playing the “blame game”. —Nick Toscano
