AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen has written to the Department of Health and Aged Care seeking reversal of plans to remove fibrin sealants from Prescribed List from 1 November 2024.
Following the Department of Health and Aged Care's (DoHAC) recent advice that it plans to remove fibrin sealants from the Prescribed List (PL), AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen has written to Department Secretary Mr Blair Comley and Health Minister Butler seeking an urgent reversal of this decision.
We are deeply concerned about the removal of these items, as it means that private health insurers will no longer be required to pay for them and funding arrangements are no longer guaranteed.
In its correspondence, the AMA highlights that the decision to take fibrin sealants off the PL jeopardises clinical autonomy and the affordability and safety of relevant surgery for patients. It also risks the costs of relevant items being passed on to treating doctors, given that many private health insurance contracts lock doctors in to 'no-gap' arrangements.
The DoHAC as recently as 21 October, confirmed this change will be implemented from 1 November despite significant opposition.
However, we will continue to advocate strongly on this issue in the hope of achieving the same kind of win for patients we achieved in relation to the proposed removal of general use items from the PL earlier this year.
