Game changed, SELL, page-10

There is only so much governments can do though, and when you don't index the cost of some healthcare items for 10-20+ years, you then have to resort to more drastic attempts to cut costs such as this bulk-billing incentive item change, and introducing it without any industry warning or consultation. Unfortunately for the government I think much of the growth in healthcare costs are being driven by increased utilisation. But not because the medical industry is over-servicing patients by ordering more tests etc., but because the population is ageing and by necessity has a greater health burden. This is a structural change government needs to adapt to, and no amount of tweaking of Medicare rules is going to stop this. For their own self-preservation there is only so much cuts they can make to one sector before the next election. So any changes are likely to have only a short-term impact, that may potentially be viewed differently with a change in government.