Women paying much more for health care than men in Queensland

Women paying much more than men for ultrasounds, consults and insurance, with a campaign on to end gender bias and “discriminatory” pricing practices in healthcare.

Gender bias in healthcare is forcing women to hand out hundreds of dollars a year more in out-of-pocket costs and insurance premiums than men.

Women are being hit harder for everything from ultrasounds to medications and private health cover and they continue to be underfunded with Medicare rebates.

Queensland women are paying $300 a year more for private cover than men.

Drugs used to treat endometriosis, menopause symptoms and newer contraceptive pills, are excluded from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme pushing up the prices while multiple erectile dysfunction drugs are on the PBS.

A woman having a scan to detect cancer in the breast will pay twice the amount of out-of-pocket costs for an ultrasound than a man being screened for testicular cancer.

Women are sometimes paying twice as much for men for scans.

The National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has been campaigning the federal government to cease “the discriminatory” situation where pregnancy is excluded from all but the most expensive private health policies yet men’s reproductive health is covered in bronze premiums.

“Getting a diagnosis for female specific conditions that require imaging is underfunded with Medicare rebates being close to meaningless and coming nowhere near the cost of covering access to these services,” NASOG president Gino Pecoraro said.

“Medicare patient rebates for female specific scans, pathology tests, consultations and in hospital procedures are significantly less than equivalent rebates for men.

“The Medicare patient rebate for scrotal ultrasound is listed on the MBS website at $96.90, the patient rebate for a pregnancy ultrasound is only $46.85.

National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists presdident Gino Pecoraro. Picture: Tara Croser.

“That is less than half the amount for a male specific condition, even though a pregnancy scan is arguably more complicated to perform and takes longer.

“The net effect of course is that specialist providers are unable to provide the service at this ridiculously low cost and so finding a bulk billing provider is next to impossible and the out-of-pocket expenses to women are significant and continue to rise with medical inflation,” he said.

Compare the Market found the average gross written premium for single females was up to $300 a year higher than single males’ average gross written premium in Queensland.

Compare the Market Head of Health, Life, and Income Protection Insurance, Lana Hambilton, said that women may be more likely to purchase ‘gold’ policies because they include maternity and fertility services.

Originally published as Women paying much more for health care than men in Queensland