A doctor conducts a thyroid examination on five-year-old girl as her older brother and a nurse take care of her at a clinic in temporary housing complex in Nihonmatsu, west of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Fukushima prefectur
In Photo: A doctor conducts a thyroid examination on five-year-old girl as her older brother and a nurse take care of her at a clinic in temporary housing complex in Nihonmatsu, west of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Fukushima prefecture February 27, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai A doctor conducts a thyroid ex

Although the $7 co-payment is still a proposal in the 2014-15 budget still to be tackled by the Australian Parliament, Australian patients are showing their dislike for the plan by not showing up for their appointments with the GP.

Doctors are alarmed by the situation since some patients may think it is already a law. To address the situation, which could cause sick people to worsen their condition due to lack of check-ups or follow-ups, the GPs have been sending text messages, assuring them the $7 co-payment isn't being collected yet.

The Australian cited a confirmation from the Australian Medical Association (AMA) that a clinic in Mt Druitt in Sydney noticed a significant drop in patient visits since the budget proposal came out. A similar incident also took place in a Tasmania clinic.

In response to the incidents, AMA President Steve Hambleton told media in Canberra, "It's disturbing that people have got mixed messages ... It is very important for patients to realise this does not start until 2015."

Even the AMA and other health groups are against the co-payment because it would prevent Aussies from visiting their GPs and could lead to a spike in emergency admissions.

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Labor and the Greens have vowed to block the co-payment and other objectionable features of the proposed budget.

But Liberal Senator Zed Seselja lays the blame on the Labor Party, which he accuses of waging a fear campaign. He said, quoted by News.com.au, "People are getting a message from the Labor Party that somehow there's going to be doom and gloom and it's not the case. It's absolutely understandable in that context that people are going to have concerns and that there will be some confusion."