The authors of a new report that looked at specialist fees in Australia have said some of the fees Australians are paying are too high.
The Grattan Institute’s Special treatment: Improving Australians’ access to specialist care report found 10% of patients pay almost $600 a year in fees, and fees have soared by 73% in real terms since 2010.
The report highlights stark figures for WA, with some areas needing significant increases in access to specialist services.
Report lead author and Grattan Institute health program director Peter Breadon said as Australians gets older and sicker, more of us will need specialist care more often.
“This report sets out the actions required to ensure every Australian can get the specialist care they need when they need it,” he said.
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The AMA has said the report highlighted what it described as an “urgent need for reforms to ensure Medicare rebates keep pace with the rising costs of delivering timely, high-quality healthcare to all Australians”.
A number of recommendations are contained within the report including that governments set up a system where GPs can get written advice from specialists to avoid an estimated 68,000 unnecessary specialist referrals each year.
It calls for governments to expand public specialist appointments in areas that get the least care in order to provide an additional one million extra services each year.
The report suggested the Federal Government remove Medicare funding from specialists who charge excessive fees and name them publicly.
It also urges governments to “train the specialist workforce Australia needs” calling for an extra $160 million to expand training with the funding linked to targets for undersupplied specialties and rural training.
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National AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said the report underscored the need for investment in the healthcare system.
“Private outpatient services alleviate pressure on the broader health system, and ongoing support for this sector — through adequate and responsive MBS funding — is vital to maintaining choice, affordability, and sustainability,” Dr McMullen said.
Dr McMullen said a range of factors contribute to high out-of-pocket costs for patients.
“Medicare rebates have lagged inflation for years, and we welcome the report’s recognition that it is time for a review of Medicare rebates to ensure they reflect the real costs of providing care,” she said.
“For specialist care delivered in private hospitals, it is important to remember that 97.2% of services for privately insured patients are delivered under known or no-gap arrangements.
“However, the report goes too far in suggesting the government should deny patients access to their Medicare rebate simply because of their choice of specialist.”
Another critical finding in the Grattan Institute’s report was that people living in the poorest parts of Australia received about a third fewer specialist services than people in the wealthiest parts.
“Targeted investment in a sustainable, well-distributed health workforce — including investment in rural and regional training — is key to ensuring every Australian, no matter where they live, can access the care they need,” Dr McMullen added.
RELATED: Questions over plan for all specialists to publish fees
Federal Labor made an election promise that it would take action to list all specialist fees on the government’s Medical Costs Finder website.
Health Minister Mark Butler had said $7million would be put towards the project, doing away with the ‘opt in system’ that a very small number of specialists had chosen to list their fees on.
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