People with diabetes not planning on using new Federal Government health scheme according to new survey

Monday, July 12, 2010

People with diabetes not planning on using new Federal Government health scheme according to new survey

A survey of people with diabetes by Australian Diabetes Council, found that most do not plan to utilise the Federal Governments new scheme for managing diabetes.

The survey of over 500 people with diabetes by Australian Diabetes Council found that less than one in four people with diabetes had heard of the Federal Government’s new scheme for managing and funding diabetes health care, and of those that had heard, the majority rated their understanding of the new scheme as poor. When key points of the new scheme relating to diabetes management were presented and compared to the existing Medicare scheme, the majority of people with diabetes stated that the current Medicare scheme meets their diabetes management requirements, and the majority said that they would prefer to continue with their current arrangements with their GP, medical specialists and allied health service providers.

On 31March 2010, the Government announced a $436m funding package to support patients with diabetes. The new funding proposal will allow patients with diabetes to choose to opt out of their Medicare entitlement and enrol with a general practice in order to be eligible for a “bundle of care services”. This represents the most fundamental change to Medicare since its inception. The Government also proposes to directly fund general practices, rather than the doctors that deliver the care to patients. This means that the financial responsibility for a patient’s care will lie with the practice itself. A patient’s control over their care will be diminished and practices may seek to interfere with clinical decisions made by GPs about the care of their patient for purely economic reasons. GPs will inevitably be forced to ration access to care for patients based on a budget set by the Government.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has put forth an alternative model to improve the management of people with diabetes following a survey of medical doctors which found that three out of five believed that the new scheme would make access to quality GP care more difficult for people with diabetes compared to the existing Medicare Benefit Scheme, and that it would likely result in less time spent with their patients. Consequently, most doctors said that they would not encourage their patients to enrol in the new scheme.

Australian Diabetes Council supports the alternative AMA proposal, stating that it will more effectively address the health care needs of people with diabetes than the Governments proposal. The alternative AMA proposal gives the person with diabetes control of their own health care, rather than allowing important clinical decisions to be driven by purely economic reasons said Australian Diabetes Council, President Neville Howard.

Australian Diabetes Council will be working with the AMA, other health professional associations and the Government to ensure that any changes to the existing Medicare system, or the introduction of any new scheme, are in the best interest of all people with diabetes and their carers.