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Co-payment goes in PM survival bid

Co-payment goes in PM survival bid

Federal Cabinet last night finally killed off its GP co-payment plan, almost 100 days after Tony Abbott promised to rid his Government of "barnacles".

But _The West Australian _understands the Government may turn to the hospital system to find some structural savings in place of the $3.5 billion that would have come from the co-payment.

The Prime Minister will today present the axed GP co-payment as evidence to Liberal MPs that he is listening to their concerns.

Amid widespread mutterings about his troubled leadership, Mr Abbott wants to be given until June to improve the Government's stocks.

But crossbench kingpin Clive Palmer gave the PM another headache yesterday, declaring his party's two senators will abstain from voting on Government Bills until the "chaos" ends.

"The policies are not consistent, party infighting and conflict is ongoing and as a result our party has decided as a bloc in the Senate to abstain from voting on any legislation proposals," he said.

The co-payment, proposed in last year's Budget, has already had a troubled history.

Originally set at $7 a visit for every patient, this was junked in December for an "optional" $5 co-payment that excluded pensioners and concession cardholders.

The policy was tweaked again in January when a plan to cut rebates for short GP consultations by $20 was ditched.

Queensland Liberal Mal Brough, one of several Liberal MPs to lobby Health Minister Sussan Ley to axe the co-payment, has argued bigger savings would flow if hospital admissions were reduced by "maximising" the primary care offered by GPs.

It is understood Cabinet will wind back a plan to freeze rebates paid to doctors and specialists through the Medicare Benefits Schedule, as demanded by the Opposition and the Greens.

Labor froze the MBS rebates for two years in 2012 and the Government proposed extending the freeze until 2018 to save $1.3 billion.

Mr Abbott's back-to-business approach to rebuff leadership speculation will see him soon announce an increase to Australia's war effort in Iraq. Yesterday, he hailed a voluntary code of conduct for supermarket chains as an example of the Government "getting on with the job".