7/31/2019 Razor Gang Targets Natural Therapies Subsidy

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Making contact ... the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has been meeting voters as her government prepares to deliver a tough budget and achieve a surplus. Yesterday she received a warm welcome

from Stuart at Glen Park Men's Shed in Melbourne. The Men's Shed Association offers practical activities in an atmosphere of mateship to help safeguard men's mental health. Ms Gillard's partner,

Tim Mathieson, is a patron of the association. Photo: Michael Clayton-Jones

NATURAL therapies such as aromatherapy, reiki and homeopathy will fall victim to the quest to return the budget to surplus, with the government no

longer prepared to subsidise them.

Tuesday's budget will charge the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Baggoley, with identifying a range of therapies that have not been shown to be

clinically effective.

Many are covered by private health insurance. Those services identified will no longer attract the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate.

The measure will make relatively meagre savings and is indicative of how far the government's razor gang has gone to return the budget from a $40

billion-plus deficit to a surplus of about $1.5 billion and keep it in surplus for the years after.

The budget will reveal that since the last Treasury forecasts at the end of last year, revenue will be down $5 billion for next financial year, and $15 billion

over the four-year forward estimates.

Each year, private health insurers pay out about $90 million for what the government considers suspect natural therapies, meaning the annual saving from

the private health subsidy clampdown would be no more than $30 million.

Professor Baggoley will conduct an eight-month review starting in July to identify a hit-list of natural therapies that will no longer qualify for subsidy

through the rebate as they are not deemed to be ''clinically effective''.

These would lose that subsidy from July 1, next year.

Despite there being a review, the government will ensure that more ''mainstream'' natural therapies are unaffected. These are largely services that are

subsidised by Medicare and include acupuncture, audiology, chiropractic, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and podiatry.

Those the government wants targeted include aromatherapy, ear candling, crystal therapy, flower essences, homeopathy, iridology, kinesiology, reiki and

rolfing.

Yesterday the government revealed the budget would contain further welfare penalties to try to force more people back to work. Initially the opposition

supported this push, with Tony Abbott saying people who can should be encouraged to work.

But later the opposition backpedalled and offered ''in-principle support'' only, while it criticised the changes as another attack on the cost of living.

Under the changes, designed to save $700 million, all single and jobless parents will lose their single parent payment when their youngest child turns eight,

not 16 as is now the case.

Parents will have their benefit downgraded to the dole, a loss of about $120 a fortnight.

The welfare group Uniting Care accused the government of punishing disadvantaged people to achieve a surplus.

''The government would do better to address the issues that make it difficult for single parents to get a job,'' said UnitingCare's Lin Hatfield Dodds.''Single parents need long-term, reliable jobs, with family-friendly hours, as close as possible to affordable housing and transport,'' she said.

Readlater

May 5, 2012

PhillipCoorey

Razor gang targets natural therapies subsidy

7/31/2019 Razor Gang Targets Natural Therapies Subsidy

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Sydney Morning Herald chief political correspondent

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