And very few have got that ethical commitment left to their patient. All of that is coming from this squeezing of Medicare, from underfunding by the Federal Government. But, some health economists, such as Professor Jeff Richardson from Monash University, claim there is little evidence doctors are in danger of going broke. Professor Richardson believes market forces are the major factor dictating doctors' incomes. Doctors have consistently argued that they are businesses.
General practitioners are probably oversupplied and probably have been oversupplied for some time.
And if you insist on being treated as a business and your industry is oversupplied, then what tends to happen is there will be a reduction in the price. That's what's happened to general practitioners. The AMA is continuing to push the Federal Government to lift the scheduled fee. No-one from Health Minister Dr Michael Wooldridge's office was available to comment on camera. That doesn't impress these protesters.