| Publication: | The Daily Telegraph |
|---|---|
| Date: | 3 June 2009 |
| Section: | National news |
By Sue Dunlevy
THE Australian system of free universal healthcare is set to disappear in as little as five years, prompting a radical plan for a new federal-state partnership to take control of hospitals and patient care. It comes amid a push by the Australian Medical Association for hospital specialists to treat patients only four days a week, potentially placing further pressure on a system already hamstrung by work restrictions among emergency physicians. In a startling warning, NSW Health director-general Debora Piccone has told the Daily Telegraph that Australia is hurtling towards a US-style user-pays system due to an ageing population and out of control costs.
"We are really on the edge of losing the universal healthcare system that this country has," she said. "I would have (previously) said we'd had 10 years to run. It's now looking like we've got five years to run because the cost escalations are so significant and we haven't prepared ourselves."
