Posted by Michael Wonder on 03 Jul 2016
Election 2016: 'Mediscare' makes Medicare reform harder
3 July 2016 - The success of Labor's Medicare scare campaign makes it more difficult for a Coalition or Labor government to improve health care, a former Coalition adviser said.
Terry Barnes, architect of the government's failed 2014 Medicare co-payment policy, said early voting may not favour the government as predicted because it was at its heaviest when Labor's charge that the government planned to "privatise" Medicare was running hot.
Health Minister Sussan Ley has launched reviews of the Medicare Benefits Schedule, the Pharmaceutical Benefits System and primary healthcare or GPs aimed at removing obsolete items and making healthcare more responsive to the need to better manage chronic diseases in older patients.
