Tony Abbott forces Lu Kewen backflip on Hospitals

 

Kevin Rudd rescues small-town medicine

By Simon Benson
The Daily Telegraph
March 24, 2010 12:00AM

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has performed the first backflip of his $50 billion national health reform, conceding he may have to change it to save small and rural hospitals.

The decision means that Mr Rudd has guaranteed the future of 118 NSW hospitals that The Daily Telegraph revealed last month would struggle to survive under his reforms.

It is also an admission by Mr Rudd that his casemix formula, which funds hospitals for the services they perform, may not work for everyone.

During yesterday's televised debate with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister conceded, under pressure from the states, that the activity-based funding model would not be suitable for smaller, mostly rural, hospitals.

Instead, Mr Rudd revealed for the first time that he would now consider block-funded grants for smaller hospitals - the way they are already funded by most States.

The Daily Telegraph has learned that in NSW alone the Federal Government could face a potential bill of $800 million to $1 billion to fund the gap between an activity-based funding and the real cost of maintaining smaller hospitals with fewer than 50 beds.

"What we would propose under our activity-based funding formula, which I thought was actually a formula backed by the Opposition - I might have got that wrong - is that it would take into account all the local costs in rural areas and the rest to make sure it works," he said in the debate.

"But if that doesn't (work) then of course we'd look at a form of national block funding, which was able to underpin the continuation of smaller rural hospitals in the future. They have a vital part in the future delivery of health services to Australians." Australian Medical Association president Dr Andrew Pesce confirmed it was the first he had heard of the change of policy.

But he said the AMA had been warning the Prime Minister of concerns about activity-based funding, also known as casemix funding, since the policy's release.

"Even with the weightings and extra loadings to allow for casemix funding . . . they tried it in Victoria and South Australia and it didn't work," Dr Pesce said.

"I don't know what they have been saying behind the scenes but I don't believe they didn't know about this.

"It was clear that they had to announce alternative funding to regional hospitals. It is of great reassurance to us."

Opposition leader Tony Abbott said that Mr Rudd's health reform policy was being made up as he went along.

"He has performed a complete somersault. He now concedes that casemix funding won't work without massive adjustments for smaller country hospitals. If he had thought it through in the first place he would not have fallen into this trap," he said.

 

Technorati Tags: Tony Abbott,Lu Kewen,Kevin 07 Rudd,AMA,Dr Andrew Pesce,Backflip

Criminals in charge of Australia's 'Refugee" program.

People smugglers take control of Australia's Refugee Program

The Hon Dr Sharman Stone MP
Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
Mon, 29th June 2009

“More than 1,000 asylum seekers have now arrived in Australia since the Rudd Government softened our border protection policies last August,” Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Dr Sharman Stone said today.

“Along with the more than 1,000 intercepted by the Indonesian authorities on our behalf, this means that almost 20% of Australia’s refugee program is controlled by people smugglers.”

“Instead of taking measures to strengthen our borders, or even to “talk” tough, the Labor Government sent another message to people smugglers this week that the back door is still open. Legislation abolishing detention debt was passed by the ALP last week, yet it was a principle that should have been retained.

“The Rudd Government’s softening of a raft of measures designed by former Labor and Coalition Governments to shut down this vile trade is clearly being used by the people smugglers as evidence that Australia has given them the green light to recruit more and more customers; endangering more and more lives.

“These measures include the planned introduction of complementary protection visas, abolishing the 45-day rule, weakening the s.501 character provisions and the Minister’s intervention to approve 650 refugee visas refused by the Refugee Review Tribunal.

“The people smugglers clearly have a well oiled pipeline to Australia and they are taking control of Australia’s refugee program. The Rudd Labor Government is silent about who these people are; where they’ve come from; how many have been given permanent residency; what their connections are with Australia; how long they have been living in safe third countries; and the role of the Minister’s secret “expert panel” in reviewing the department’s decisions to refuse to grant these people visas.

“The need for an inquiry into the linkage between the softening of policy and the surge in arrivals, as called for by the Coalition, is long overdue and its time this Labor Government looked at the evidence and toughened up about people smugglers,” Dr Stone concluded.