Editing Medicare (Australia) (section)

==== "Mediscare" ====
Towards the end of the campaign for the [[2016 Australian federal election]] in July of that year, a text claiming to be from "Medicare" was sent to certain electorates around the nation, saying "Mr Turnbull's plans to privatise Medicare will take us down the road of no return. Time is running out to Save Medicare."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mills |first1=Stephen |date=8 July 2016 |title=Three reasons why we should have seen Labor's 'Medicare SMS' coming |url=https://theconversation.com/three-reasons-why-we-should-have-seen-labors-medicare-sms-coming-62177 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005162924/https://theconversation.com/three-reasons-why-we-should-have-seen-labors-medicare-sms-coming-62177 |archive-date=5 October 2020 |access-date=9 April 2020 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref> The leader of the Liberal Party, [[Malcolm Turnbull]], had not announced such plans, and the [[Services Australia|Department of Human Services]] denied sending the message. It had instead been sent by the [[Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch)|Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party]]. The furore over the text brought attention to the value of Medicare to Australians. The affair was widely dubbed "Mediscare," which in turn was used to describe fears of the Liberal National Party's alleged devolution of Medicare.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Doran |first1=Matthew |last2=Patel |first2=Uma |date=2016-08-02 |title=AFP ends 'Mediscare' text message investigation |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-02/mediscare-text-message-investigation-dropped-by-afp/7683390 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240710002042/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-02/mediscare-text-message-investigation-dropped-by-afp/7683390 |archive-date=10 July 2024 |access-date=2020-04-19 |website=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref>

The claims were subsequently given some substance when the Liberal Party voted against a motion including a "guarantee to keep Medicare in public hands as a universal health insurance scheme for all Australians" (and six other Medicare related clauses) in October that year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ParlInfo - MOTIONS : Health Care : Division |url=https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:%22chamber/hansardr/53c9fd8e-e207-4e59-aa4a-a1953f715e20/0129%22 |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=parlinfo.aph.gov.au}}</ref>