We see their spokespeople quoted in the papers and their ads on TV, but beyond that we know very little about how Australia’s lobby groups get what they want. This series shines a light on the strategies, political alignment and policy platforms of eight lobby groups that can influence this election.
Each time we go for a blood test to investigate or keep track of an illness, or have a tissue sample from a Pap test or suspicious mole sent off for analysis, the wheels of the pathology industry are put to work.
Pathology in Australia is big business. One company draws an annual revenue of almost A$4 billion. And a proportion comes from the public purse, via Medicare rebates.
The industry features a handful of very large corporations – including giants Sonic and Primary Health Care – that typically use multiple brands, giving a misleading sense of competition.
Other large groups operate on a commercial basis but have a religious and thus notionally not-for-profit orientation, such as the St John of God group in Western Australia.
There are also a shrinking number of smaller independent operators trying to occupy market niches or leverage personal relationships.
The industry doesn’t speak with one voice; different providers have competing interests. The key private sector industry body is Pathology Australia. But it doesn’t represent Primary Health Care or religious entities.
Threat to bulk billing
If you visited a clinic to get a blood test or other service late last year or early this year, you probably encountered Pathology Australia’s Don’t Kill Bulk Billposters and pamphlets encouraging you to contact your local MP or the health minister.
It was a traditional fear campaign that generated substantial public interest. The concern was that the government’s $1.40/$3.40 removal of the bulk-billing incentive for pathology services would lead to A$30 pap tests and cause those with diabetes and other serious diseases to forgo important blood tests.
Such fees would only arise, however, if pathology companies didn’t absorb the small cuts, and decided instead to charge large co-payments. This seems unlikely, as patients could simply choose a provider that did bulk bill.
Further reading: True blood: cutting through confusion about pathology cuts
The Don’t Kill Bulk Bill campaign was promptly abandoned in mid-May after Pathology Australia negotiated a deal with the Coalition government. This meant Pathology Australia’s members would maintain bulk billing. And the government would introduce regulation to stop general practitioners from charging pathology companies high rents for blood and tissue collection centres co-located within their clinics.
Sonic shares went up almost 5% after deal was announced, signalling a win for Pathology Australia. And the government was able to dodge a bullet.
Patients are arguably the losers, being used as pawns in a campaign that claimed to be about patient care but was really about corporate profits.