Yet another of the Coalition government’s key savings measures looks dead in the water, with Labor and cross benchers vowing to vote down proposed cuts to Medicare rebates.

The proposal, which would see government rebates for 10-minute GP visits reduced by $20, leaves a $1.3 billion savings hole in the federal budget.

• Bill Shorten vows to block Medicare rebate cuts
• GPs against Medicare rebate cuts

With Labor joining the Greens to support a disallowance motion, only another four votes are needed from the cross bench.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said Labor would oppose the “sneaky backdoor method” when parliament resumes next month.

“We will say to Tony Abbott ‘you are not going to damage the Medicare system if we’ve got anything to do with it’,” Mr Shorten said on Wednesday.

Independent senators have also pledged to block the cuts in the upper house.

Independent senators like Nick Xenophon will vote down the bill. Photo: AAP

Senator Nick Xenophon told reporters on Wednesday he “cannot in good conscience support these measures.”

“The Government’s policy seems to be driven by the bean counters in Treasury and Finance, not by the health experts,” Mr Xenophon said.

Speaking with Fairfax, former Australian Medical Association president Kerryn Phelps said the proposal was “really dumb” and would make an enemy out of doctors.

“I think they have to sort it out pretty quickly, because it’s something that within a 12-month period is going to affect almost every Australian family,” Dr Phelps said.

“GPs are not highly political animals by any means, until you poke the bull ant’s nest, and if you do that, they become very political, very quickly, even if they don’t realise that’s what they’re doing.”

Mr Abbott defended the government’s decision to cut rebates, arguing the cost of Medicare would spiral out of control, from $8 billion a decade ago to $34 billion in a decade’s time, without “tough choices”.

“We’re serious about budget responsibility. Is the Senate? Now that’s the question,” Mr Abbott told Fairfax radio.

“It seems that the Labor Party and the Senate are just not prepared to accept any tough decisions.

“That puts our nation in a very difficult position; that puts Medicare in a very difficult position.”

Australian Medical Association president Brian Owler said the proposal was “a budget cut, not a health policy” and a “$1.3 billion grab” from families and doctors.

“The government is simply ripping $1.3 billion out of primary health and trying to dress it up as some sort of measure to support quality care,” Dr Owler said.