Surgery to inflict pain on patients’ hip pockets
The majority of Australians will pay more for hip or knee replacements or eye surgery to implant intraocular lenses after the release of the Federal Government’s Prostheses List.
It shows that the number of prostheses requiring gap payments will increase significantly to 18.5% of all listed products.
Over the past years the number of products on the Prostheses List with gaps has grown significantly from 1.2% or 113 items in February 2006 to 18.5% or 1,760 items in February 2009.
This represents a 15 fold increase in the number of gapped items in three years, while the overall number of listed items only increased by 186 from 9,306 to 9,492 during the same time period.
![Dandenong Mayor [left] stands next to aged care resident and aged care staff member](https://agedcareguide-assets.imgix.net/news/articles/wp/belv__2204.jpg?fm=pjpg&w=370)
![Dandenong Mayor [left] stands next to aged care resident and aged care staff member](https://agedcareguide-assets.imgix.net/news/articles/wp/belv__2204.jpg?fm=pjpg&w=520&format=auto&q=65)
