While the Government has abandoned almost all of its policies it has remained steadfast on its four year freeze of Medicare rebates, the AMA says.
If doctors absorb the freeze, their practices will become unviable. This means the freeze will have a knock-on effect that could ultimately lead to higher private insurance premiums and higher out-of-pocket costs for patients.
The AMA has developed a wide range of resources to help doctors communicate this to their patients.
AMA resources:
Indexation Freeze gaps poster. This shows the impact of the MBS indexation freeze compared to annual indexation of medical fees.
Privately insured in-hospital services graphs. These show the potential impact of the MBS indexation freeze on privately insured in-hospital services.