Wooldridge Gives Thumbs Down To GP Budget Initiative – 14 May 1998

The Australian Doctors’ Fund, a 5000 member health policy think tank, has today welcomed the news that The Federal Health Minister agrees that bulk-billing does not promote quality medicine.

In an interview on ABC’s LateLine with Maxine McKew (13 May 1998), spokesman for the Australian Doctors’ Fund, Mr Glen Ramos, said “The Federal Health Budget’s GP initiatives are aimed at encouraging General Practitioners to bulk-bill, but now we have a Federal Health Minister telling us that bulk-billing does not promote quality medicine.”

“It is bad enough that the Federal Government continues to sideskirt the real issues of public hospital funding and private health fund membership declines but now it is taking us backwards and promoting a lowering of standards” said Mr Ramos.

“It is absolutely clear that the Department of Health has no real answers. It is time we had a change of direction and not more of the same bandaid solutions” said Mr Ramos