ATTENTION RADIO NEWS/PROGRAMMING
FOR THURSDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2018
IT'S MEDICARE D-DAY FOR
AUSTRALIANS OVER 50.
Australians aged over 50 have today lost access to some critical Medicare scans – just because of their age.
As of today (Thursday, 1 November), anyone over 50 who injures their knee will no longer be able to get a Medicare-funded MRI through their GP.
Instead, they'll be forced to either:
· Wait to see a specialist to obtain the referral, costing money, time and pain; or
· Pay the full cost of the MRI without any Medicare rebate - anywhere between $400 to $600.
It's estimated that this decision – announced earlier this year by the Federal Government – will hurt around 80,000 older Australians every year.
"It's a Medicare D-Day for tens of thousands of older Australians," said Dr Siavash Es'haghi, President of the Australian Diagnostic Imaging Association (ADIA).
"Making people pay specialist fees just to get a knee MRI so they can keep healthy is like an ageing tax for over 50s.
"We have been campaigning hard against this ageist policy, because there is no clinical evidence to support it. It is therefore extremely disappointing that financial goals have won out ahead of patient health.
Background:
· The Medicare cut was announced as part of the Government's Medical Benefits Scheme (MBS) Review – despite there being no clinical evidence supporting the decision.
· The Australian Diagnostic Imaging Association (ADIA), the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) and the Australasian Musculoskeletal Imaging Group (AMSIG) have joined forces to campaign against the cut.
· ADIA is running a campaign across social media and in radiology practices, and is running a change.org petition that has passed 10,000 signatures.
