The Greens have pledged a $550m funding boost for x-rays and radiology on Medicare as they ramp up their efforts to triumph in the Batman byelection.
Party leader Richard Di Natale said on Sunday the policy aimed to reduce out-of-pocket costs for patients looking to access x-rays, ultrasounds and MRI and CT scans.
As a result, the Australian Diagnostic Imaging Association (ADIA) will be letterboxing 60,000 homes across the inner Melbourne electorate, urging them to vote for Greens candidate Alex Bhathal.
The flyer directs residents to vote for the Greens over Labor and star candidate Ged Kearney, with the byelection two weeks away.
In 1998, a Medicare rebate freeze was applied to radiology services such as x-rays, ultrasounds and CT and MRI scans, meaning that government funding would cease to rise, and patients would pay more out of pocket.
A broader Medicare freeze, affecting GP visits, was introduced by the Rudd Labor government in 2013 and then extended under the Coalition. In 2017, the government announced it would gradually lift this freeze in stages.
The president of the ADIA, Dr Siavash Es’haghi, said the Turnbull government had promised to end the freeze on radiology in the 2016 budget, but had backed away. “The Coalition finally recognised this problem before the last federal election and promised to end the Medicare freeze, but they haven’t kept their promise,” he said.
Labor had promised to end the 2013 freeze on GP visits before the 2016 election, but had excluded x-rays and scans. Es’haghi said only the Greens had committed to restoring the rebate for radiology from July this year. “These are often vital tests which patients require in order to receive appropriate and timely treatment for potentially serious health conditions,” he said.
Di Natale said the party would invest $557m to cover the cost of ending the radiology freeze. He said the growing out-of-pocket cost prevented 300,000 patients last year from accessing “potentially life-saving tests”.
The average patient contribution for radiology is $100, rising to $150 for MRI and CT scans.
“Right now people are faced with a choice: cough up hundreds of dollars to get these scans or go without essential care,” Di Natale said.
Labor’s Catherine King, the shadow health minister, criticised the Greens for not adopting the policy earlier.
“Where were the Greens on this issue at the last election?” she said. “Labor went to the last election with an $884m commitment to reverse Turnbull’s cuts to pathology and diagnostic imaging.”
The ADIA is also running a national television advertising campaign on the issue, telling voters the Coalition has “not kept its promise to radiology patients”.
“Patient rebates for life-saving radiology services have remained frozen since 1998, not even increasing to match the rate of inflation,” said Es’haghi. “That’s 20 years of inaction under successive Coalition and Labor governments, and it’s patients who
are hurting.”
James Wood, who manages radiology practices in the electorate, said the move “certain can’t hurt” the Greens campaign.
“I would field at least two calls a week from patients who are complaining about the cost,” he said. “It may be a vote-winner, it may resonate with the people.”
