‘Specialist care funding not fit for purpose’: Health body and private insurer calls for change in NT

The Australian Medical Association has urged for action to provide Territorians with ‘genuine choice’ when accessing specialist healthcare.

A report published by the Grattan Institute criticised high specialist fees and low training opportunities in rural areas in the NT.

A health body and private insurers have called for a “significant change” to specialist care funding in the NT following a damning report.

New Grattan Institute research found people living in the NT outback get fewer specialist appointments than the national average with one of the big reasons for this pointing to a lack of training opportunities.

In the report published on Saturday, authors also addressed high specialist fees and found almost a million Australians delay or skip specialist care because of the cost.

It called for governments to work together to address training issues and identify future healthcare needs.

The NT President for the Australian Medical Association (AMA), Dr John Zorbas, said the health body had been calling for “significant change” for some time.

AMA NT president Dr John Zorbas. Picture: Supplied.

“The system that funds specialist care in Australia is not fit for purpose,” he said.

”We need to make sure there’s appropriate funding for public health care so patients have genuine choice when it comes to the specialty care that they need, especially somewhere like the Territory.

“We know the NT is one of the hardest places in Australia to receive this kind of care.

“It’s hard to attract specialist staff. It’s hard to retain specialist staff, and that often means Territorians have to travel outside the NT to get the care they need.

“Where that care is hard to access, this leads to worse health outcomes.”

Dr Zorbas said proper funds and support for rural and regional training posts would help and said Medicare rebates have added to the problem of increasing costs for care.

“The fact that we’re seeing access to this care declining is proof that our system is no longer providing the funding that we need to actually deliver this care,” he added.

High specialist fees threatening private hospital viability

Private Healthcare Australia said they endorsed the Grattan Institute’s plan to bring down the cost of specialist doctors’ fees down saying rising costs is “decimating demand” for private hospitals.

Across Australia, private hospitals are reportedly experiencing low demand for mental health care and obstetrics. Two areas where some doctors charge very high fees according to Private Healthcare Australia.

Chief executive of Private Healthcare Australia, Dr Rachel David. Picture: Supplied

These fees, charged outside of a hospital admission, cannot legally be covered by health insurance and the high cost can create a barrier to people’s health and mean hospital beds are going to waste when patients put appointments off due to the fees.

The chief executive of Private Healthcare Australia, Dr Rachel David, said the Federal Government needs to help address this cost.

“If a doctor is charging you nearly $1000 upfront for an appointment in their rooms before they even discuss treatment in a private hospital, that is a massive barrier to private hospital care,” Dr David said.

“This is eroding demand for private hospitals and threatening the viability of some private hospitals.

“Health insurers cannot keep paying private hospitals more and more to help them through a difficult period if the key to their survival rests with doctors.”