Medicare rebate changes to be thrown out by united front in Senate

Controversial changes to the Medicare rebate will be thrown out, barely a month after they're introduced across the country.

Labor today announced it will side with crossbenchers and the Greens, to overturn the new rules in the Senate, leaving the Prime Minister's plans to overhaul medicare in chaos.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says the party will move to disallow the change to rebates that could see people paying up to $20 more for an average visit from Monday.

The government tabled the change as a regulation before Christmas but did not need to legislate for the changes, however it can be overturned with a disallowance motion when the Senate returns on February 9.

Mr Shorten called it a Christmas sneak attack on the Medicare system.

"Everyone knows that the Abbott government pull the old political trick of bypassing Parliament, of rushing a regulation in before Christmas, then they change their Health minister, then they've gone on holiday and they expect Australia to swallow their shoddy, shonky broken promises," Mr Shorten said.

He said Labor would take the earliest opportunity to disallow the regulation, a move the Greens are already planning with support from some crossbenchers.

"Our position is unequivocal, it's in black and white. We will oppose Tony Abbott absolutely changing the rebate system for our GPs."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott earlier accused Labor of sabotaging his government's efforts for economic reform.

"I say to all of the critics: `If you don't like what we are doing, come up with your alternative because we simply cannot go on as a government, and as a country, living beyond our means'," Mr Abbott said.

"It just seems that Labor and the Senate are just not prepared to accept any tough decisions," he said.

As part of the alternative to the $7 GP co-payment, a rebate of $16.95 for short consultations and a cut of $20 for doctors will come into force on Monday.

But it be gone within weeks, when over turned in the Senate.

The AMA believes these changes will lead to increased out-of-pocket expenses for patients and higher health costs as more people turn up to hospital emergency rooms.

But Mr Abbott said doctors had sought a new payment structure that would discourage doctors from "six-minute" medicine and encourage them to spend more time with patients.

"Just a few months ago the AMA was saying that they didn't want to see six-minute medicine, they didn't want to support bulk billing, they wanted to see doctors spending more time with their patients, and that's exactly what these changes are designed to produce," he said.

With AAP.