Will the senate block the $7 doctor tax?

A showdown is looming in the senate over particular parts of the budget. Very particularly over the $7 sick tax to see the doctor. Of course Labor is dead against it along with the Greens. Clive Palmer's looney tunes party, which will hold the balance of power in the senate in July, is also making noises that they will oppose it.

The introduction of fees to see a doctor has been savaged by Labor, which says the Government is raising revenue at the expense of sick people. 

From July 1 previously bulk-billed patients will have to pay a $7 fee to visit the GP, have an X-ray, scan or a blood test. 

The "co-payment" will save the Government $3.4 billion over five years - money which will go towards setting up a new fund for medical research. 

Labor's shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says the fund should not be created at the expense of the sick. 

He says the fee will lead to worse health outcomes as people put off going to the doctor when they are ill. 

"It is a trashing of the fundamental principles of Medicare... and we will oppose that all the way with all the energy we can muster," he told ABC's 7.30 program on Tuesday night. 

"It's not a small co-payment when you are trying to make ends meet and you have to decide whether to take a small child to the doctor or pay your bills. 

"Your health should not be determined by your wealth." 

The Greens, who currently hold the balance of power in the Senate, have also criticised the plan, saying the Government is cutting $10 billion from health and hospital funding in the next four years but investing only $275 million into medical research. 

"We love medical research and we want more of it - but this is a con," Greens leader Christine Milne said. 

Mr Palmer, whose Palmer United Party (PUP) will hold key crossbench seats when the new Senate sits from July 1, is also critical of the GP fee. 

"I'm worried personally about pensioners that earn $300 a week, that have to go to the hospital, see the doctor three or four times a week, that'll take 10 or 15 per cent of their income - I don't think that's fair," he told the ABC's PM program. 

He says PUP will "consider" blocking the co-payment, and "also the debt tax". more

So what will Abbott do then if he can't get that through? Would it be enough to force him into an election? Oh please please!