NICOLA Roxon has reaffirmed the government's commitment to free healthcare, dismissing revelations that Queensland hospitals are paying the insurance excess of privately covered patients to lure them into the public system.
The federal Health Minister, describing the enticements as a "bit of a storm in a teacup", said she understood the Queensland government had already rejected the practice.
But she conceded it was understandable public hospitals were "looking for relief" from pressure on their budgets.
"It's absolutely fundamental to our system that you can get public hospital services free of charge across the country, no matter where you live, no matter what you earn," Ms Roxon told ABC TV's Insiders program yesterday.
"It's a very fundamental part of the Medicare deal that was struck and we're certainly not wanting to turn away from that in any way."
The Australian revealed on Friday how a report, commissioned by Queensland Health, had recommended that public hospitals waive or pay insured patients' excess to raise up to $30million a year at the expense of health funds.
This highlighted a new tactic by public hospitals to pursue private health insurance dollars at the potential risk of reducing beds for public patients.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said yesterday privately insured patients still had the right to use public hospitals.
"What we do when people arrive at public hospitals is we ask if they're privately insured, if they're going in for elective surgery ... They are encouraged and assisted to use their private health insurance in a private setting." she said.
Ms Roxon said the federal government had put $64 billion into the new healthcare agreement with the states to fund hospital and other public health services, saying this was a 50 per cent increase on the Howard government's commitment.
