Rudd finesses the funding, Abbott promises beds
The Age
Wednesday March 24, 2010
KEVIN Rudd threw a lifeline to hundreds of rural hospitals and Tony Abbott pledged 3500 new hospital beds in a head-to-head clash on health reform awarded to the Prime Minister.In the first televised leaders debate of the election year, Mr Rudd made a folksy pitch, reviving his Kevin07 campaign persona as he talked of parents taking sick children to hospital in the middle of the night and arguing "a first class hospital system is basic to the Australian fair go".Without his own policy to sell, Mr Abbott's gambit was highly aggressive, accusing the Prime Minister of telling lies, making jibes that he had medical experience as an anaesthetist in Parliament, and denigrating Labor's ideas.Studio audiences of swinging voters declared Mr Rudd the victor €” by 71 to 29 per cent according to the Nine Network's "worm".Labor will attempt to capitalise on Mr Rudd's success and exploit the Liberals' lack of a hospital policy by encouraging MPs and candidates in marginal seats to challenge their opponents to individual debates.The tactic, in place before yesterday's debate, is part of a major effort to put health at the centre of the election agenda.But Mr Abbott played down the verdict from the debate. "That doesn't surprise me, there hasn't been any Liberal leader who the worm has liked," he said.In a series of feisty exchanges, Mr Rudd accused the Opposition Leader of being "a rolling tidal wave of negativity".Mr Abbott accused the Prime Minister of "a series of distortions, misrepresentations and outright lies" about his own record as health minister.When Mr Rudd repeatedly taunted him to work co-operatively, while making pointed barbs at Mr Abbott's record, the Opposition Leader retorted: "Tell you what, Kevin, you stop telling lies about me, and I'll work constructively with you."On policy, Mr Rudd made a significant concession on his plan to institute case-based funding at all hospitals.Victoria has warned the move would jeopardise 44 of its rural hospitals, which it funds with block grants after they were unable to survive on case-mix funding. "Activity-based funding would take into account all of the local costs in rural areas and the rest to make sure it works," he said. "But if that doesn't, then of course we would look at a form of national block funding."Mr Abbott leapt on the backdown. "The Prime Minister has just now changed his policy."Mr Abbott hinted at a new pledge of his own €” an extra 3500 hospital beds. "That's what the experts, particularly the AMA, say is needed . . . and that's what I'll be working towards."On the defensive over his broken 2007 promise not to touch the private health insurance rebate, Mr Rudd said he did not intend to make further changes €” but refused to guarantee it.Mr Abbott jumped in, waving a letter from Mr Rudd to health insurers before the last election pledging no changes to the rebate €” which he branded "a lie". "If you couldn't trust the Prime Minister's promises before the last election, why should we trust the Prime Minister's promises before the next election?"But he found himself cornered on the Howard government's decision in 2003 to cut $1 billion from projected spending on public hospitals, and how the federal share of public hospital funding fell in those years."It did," he said, "but we fully delivered on our agreements and we gave the public hospitals $10 billion more than had previously been the case and we delivered a 17 per cent real increase in public hospital funding."Mr Abbott blasted Labor's plan to keep splitting hospital costs with the states, arguing a shift from a 40-60 funding model to 60-40 would not end the "blame game".Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews welcomed Mr Rudd's shift on case-mix funding for rural hospitals but said he would continue to push for more details."We want to see rural and regional hospitals thrive in Victoria," he said.
© 2010 The Age