Medicare costs a key poll battleground, says AMA chief The Australian Medical Association says the Medicare rebate should become an election issue. Picture: Scott Fletcher Source: The Daily Telegraph PATIENTS are paying up to $199 out of their own pocket to see some specialists and almost $27 to see a non-bulk-billing GP - and the AMA says the Medicare rebate must now become an election issue. Announcing plans to run for a third term, AMA president Dr Steve Hambleton says that both major parties will have to address the growing unaffordability of medical care in the September general election. "The Medicare rebate should be linked to what it costs to deliver the service, and that gap is widening," Dr Hambleton said. We'll be looking to both sides of politics to fix that. Gap fees for non-bulk-billing GPs have soared by almost $10 a visit to $27 since Labor was elected in 2007. Patients are paying up to $199 out of their own pocket to see an obstetrician, up $30.25 since Labor was elected. The out-of-pocket cost for seeing a specialist rose by $15.92 to $53.10 over the past five years. The cost of an X-ray is now $84, up $26.59. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported in November that one in 15 sick Australians has put off seeing a doctor because it costs too much. Affordability was hardest for those aged 25-35, with one in 10 Australians in the age group unable to afford a doctor. In 1984, when Medicare in its present form started, the rebate covered 68 per cent of the AMA fee; it now covers just 51 per cent. Tony Abbott was the last health minister to make a sizeable increase in the Medicare rebate, by $5 in the 2004 election. Dr Hambleton said a similar increase would cost $1 billion a year and may be unaffordable in the short term, but at the very least governments must ensure gap fees do not rise further. Recent rows between governments over hospital funding cutbacks showed that, far from abating, the "blame game is now on steroids," he said. Dr Hambleton will also be demanding both sides of politics address the looming medical training crisis, with hundreds of new students a year about to graduate from university unable to find a training spot in a hospital. Dr Hambelton will be only the third AMA president to seek a third term.