Increases in specialist payments for treating Veterans
Bruce Billson
The Federal Government has increased payments to medical specialists for treating Veterans, with an additional $600 Million funding boost. The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Bruce Billson, announced the increase at the RSL’s National Conference in Perth.
This follows an Australian Medical Association (AMA) survey released last month which showed a drop in the number of specialists willing to treat veterans due to the fee rates which were seen as too low.
Of nearly 1,800 specialists surveyed, 41 per cent said they could not continue to treat all veteran patients who hold a Gold Card. The number has nearly doubled since 2004, when the AMA found only 23 per cent of specialists were contemplating cutting back on treating veterans.
