[LINK] Access denied: young people and the new 'smartcard'

Bernard Robertson-Dunn brd at iimetro.com.au
Wed Aug 1 16:08:08 AEST 2007


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The comments about this article make interesting reading.
Same URL, following the article.
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Access denied: young people and the new 'smartcard'
By Luke Bo'sher
ABC
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/01/1993583.htm

The Government's proposal of the Access Card has set an ideological and strategic position about the right to health care and age of independence. Hidden well beneath the simmering debate about privacy, technology, safety and cost, the Federal Government has made young people's access to health care more tenuous than it has ever been before.

The Access Card is designed to replace all existing health care and social security cards, effectively making it essential for anyone who wants to see a doctor or receive medical treatment. This is particularly the case for young people who are very unlikely to be able to meet the cost of health care without government subsidy through Medicare.

The legislation sets the benchmark for a legal right to a card at 18 years. Anyone below the age of 18 will require an exemption from the Minister to get a card.

The Minister for Human Services, Senator Chris Ellison, has given assurances that he will give all young people aged 15-18 who want an Access Card the necessary exemption, consistent with the current Medicare policy. However, this guarantee cannot be made for future ministers, let alone future governments.

Concentration of power

The Government is proposing to substantially increase the power of one individual Minister to decide whether or not a young person has the right to independently access health care.

If the minister decided to revoke his or her exemptions for each or all of those aged below 18, as it is within his or her power to do so, the impact on young people would be disastrous.

Requiring all young people to be on their parents' Access Card would deny young people the opportunity to access health care independently and would compromise their right to confidentiality of treatment.

Confidentiality and privacy in accessing health care is central to young people. For the past decade, an unprecedented amount of resources have been dedicated to promoting 'help seeking behaviours' and early intervention for young people in relation to health care. Particularly in the areas of mental health, family planning, sexual health and alcohol and drug treatments, confidentiality is one of the most important aspects for young people.

In making the Minister for Human Services the sole decision maker in whether or not those aged 15-18 can access health care services independently, the health and wellbeing of thousands young people rests with one politician.

Young people in this age group already have virtually no formal political power. This Government position reflects an ongoing desire to keep young people invisible and removed from decision making processes.

Significantly, this is not just about political processes - but also about those personal decision making processes that young people have every right to be involved in. It is about the right to make decisions about your own body, health, access to income and living arrangements.

Get real

The Government likes to pretend that all young people live in family environments where there is no need for them to make independent decisions - "Father knows best". The Government needs to get real.

The legislation should be amended to reflect the position that is already accepted as a reality in Australia by most of us today - that those aged 15-18 should be able to access healthcare independently and with the same level of confidentiality as those aged 18 and above. This position has been recognised by the medical profession's national peak body, the Australian Medical Association.

The legislation should make everyone aged 15 and above eligible for a card but allow those aged 15-18 to remain on their parents' card if they so wish.

This alteration would make no difference at all in the immediate period following the Access Card's introduction, but would make the Access Card legislation more transparent, accountable and robust in determining who is able to get exemptions in the future.

It would shift power from one Minister to the whole Parliament and allow for any change in young people's access to health care to be scrutinised and debated with the seriousness this issue deserves.

Luke Bo'sher is a policy officer at the Youth Coalition of the ACT.

-- 
Regards
brd

Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Sydney Australia
brd at iimetro.com.au

 




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