29/10/2017
It's one thing to rig a taxpayer funded natural therapies review so that the listed therapies wouldn't satisfy the criteria set...the previous federal government stated on its website that regardless of the outcomes of the review this would not affect health funds making their own business decision to continue to offer rebates for insured members.
The review was understood to be what is was...a short sighted way of legitimising a 'rob Peter, to pay Paul' policy mindset and based on no regard whatsoever for the real benefits of complementary medicine as a preventative and valuable option for reducing health cost burden to the community - including the challenges of supporting mental health.
This government seems to have decided to dictate to private enterprise (the Health Funds) that they will not be allowed to offer rebates at all - (even if they wanted to in response to customer demand.)
Apart from the myopic absurdity from an economic point of view, it reveals an an entirely new level of gross government interference in free markets and consumer choice in health.
This is a deliberate investment and misuse of tax payer funds aimed at undermining complementary medicine in the public mind and ensuring mainstream health advice always takes a pharmaceutical or surgical route.
I've asked around about this recent government announcement and it's very clear that users of complementary medicines and the general community have not twigged what's really going on here.
Your health, your choice.
ATMS
