Medicare

Joe is a 42 year-old butcher. He is the only breadwinner in his family and aren’t particularly well off. They’re not poor either, but they’re part of a significantly large number of people who fit into this unique income class. One day Joe had an accident and breaks his arm. It’s the day before he gets paid, so Joe hasn’t got any cash in his wallet. He goes to the doctor and gets his arm bandaged and plastered. He goes to pay and is asked for an upfront payment. Joe also has bills piling up on the fridge door, but don’t we all?

The above story is an example that will without doubt be repeated thousands of times over if the Howard government’s has its way. Their recent plan to phase out Medicare’s bulk-billing system is both unfair and undeserved by a hard-working group of Australians, many of whom voted this government in with the best of intentions, believing that they had their interests, especially in the vital realm of healthcare.

It turns out, as so often h...