The Federal Government has agreed to widen the number of radiology and diagnostic imaging services that will have Medicare rebates indexed from 2020.
In 2017 health minister Greg Hunt said the Medicare freeze would be lifted on 59 of 891 radiology items listed on the MBS for mammography, fluoroscopy, interventional radiology and CT scans. This has now been extended to include ultrasound and X-ray services, which will cover 90% of the funding of diagnostic imaging items in Medicare.
However the indexing deal excludes MRI and nuclear medicine.
The radiology rebate freeze dates back to 1998 and has led to large out of pocket costs for patients, with average gaps of around $110 for ultrasound, $152 for CT and $182 for MRI, according to the Australian Diagnostic Imaging Association (ADIA).
In its budget submission for 2019, the ADIA noted that patients needing cancer scans were often forced to pay more than $2000 in upfront fees, and the total gap fees paid by patients for scans in 2017-18 were estimated to be $553.2 million.
ADIA President Dr Siavash Es’haghi welcomed the indexing announcement, saying it was “great news for patients” after two decades of stagnation.
“It is a real step forward in terms of access and affordability for patients and is a crucial decision for the ongoing sustainability of Medicare.
“[This] means more than nine in ten radiology services provided under Medicare will be indexed from 1 July 2020, with flow-on effects for the hip pockets of the nine million Australians who access these services every year,” he said.