State-owned practices would cannibalise existing GP clinics, doctors warn
Tasmanian Labor leader Dean Winter said the medical lobby should be more open to change.
A plan for government-owned GP practices that universally bulk-bill is targeting the wrong locations, including a suburb with eight established practices, doctors claim.
Ahead of Saturday’s Tasmanian election, Labor is under fire from the state AMA, which says the Opposition has already broken its promise that its “TassieDoc” clinics would be limited to areas in desperate need of GPs.
However, Tasmanian Labor says the criticisms are “history repeating”, highlighting the AMA attacks on the Federal Government’s urgent care clinics.Â
The party has pledged to build 10 practices where taxpayers cover all overhead costs for GPs who universally bulk-bill, with GPs keeping 100% of the Medicare cash.
