John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank previous speakers for their important contributions to this debate. This is an important issue and I have been very happy to be working on it across the aisle with the members for Macarthur and Calwell and with my colleague the member for Capricornia. Atrial fibrillation is a leading cause of stroke and heart failure for hundreds of thousands of people across Australia. It is a deeply concerning condition that is on the minds of many of our fellow Australians.

Atrial fibrillation is a serious heart rhythm condition which affects the heart's ability to pump blood. In many cases there are no symptoms; however, it is strongly linked with heart failure, dementia and stroke. Indeed, it causes 6,000 strokes and over 60,000 hospitalisations annually. It affects over 460,000 Australians and has no simple or easy solution. In some cases, however, it can be effectively managed by a procedure called catheter ablation, whereby small catheters are temporarily introduced into the affected heart tissue to correct electrical short circuits, which allows the heart to pump blood properly again. Up to 40,000 Australians could benefit from this procedure, which has a strong success rate of 75 per cent. However, too few Australians are receiving this treatment and far too many are suffering and dying unnecessarily.

Under current legislation, health funds are not required to cover patients for medical technology that is not listed on the federal Prostheses List. As the catheter is not implanted in the body permanently but is removed after correcting the heart's fault, it does not fit the criteria of the Prostheses List. Therefore, many sufferers are priced out of receiving this important treatment or are forced to join public hospital waiting lists of one or two years, during which time they are extremely vulnerable. This is an antiquated approach to classifying life-saving medical technology, which must be amended. For the past 10 years, cardiologists, industry and non-profit bodies such as hearts4heart have been advocating for this change, but it has come to no effect. The problem has been going on for too long and it needs to be rectified now. People are dying and having strokes as a result of this not being rectified.

When one day, hopefully soon, the federal government includes catheter ablation on part C of the prostheses list, it will require private insurers to cover the cost of the device for eligible policyholders. This will make 18,500 privately insured sufferers eligible for lifesaving treatment—a substantial increase from the status quo. This reform will drastically improve the lives of those who have suffered for far too long and will save countless lives. The old adage that prevention is better than cure couldn't be more true. Including catheter ablation on the prostheses list is not only financially feasible but also rational from a cost-benefit perspective. We welcome the minister's announcement over the weekend regarding health insurance premiums and the agreement with the Medical Technology Association of Australia. It is certainly important to keep costs as low as possible for families across the country but it is also essential that private health care is an attractive option with full options for conditions, especially for a condition that affects so many Australians.

I commend the minister for announcing the review of additional technologies that could appear on the prostheses list, including catheter ablation. But I would also like clarification on the timing. Even if this discussion takes only a few years, thousands of lives will be irrevocably changed because of this delay. I would also like to take the opportunity to praise the extraordinary work of hearts4heart, and in particular Tanya Hall, who as the CEO and founder of the group has been instrumental in raising awareness about this and other important heart related issues. I have met with Ms Hall on several occasions and she has been an exceptional advocate. I congratulate her for all her efforts so far and I look forward to seeing her continue to have a strong impact in our community in bringing this critical reform across the line.

To conclude, we have before us a policy reform that could save lives and deliver better financial outcomes for the healthcare system. The reasons to adopt this policy are clear, detailed and compelling. I trust that the minister will agree and deliver much-needed support to sufferers of atrial fibrillation in the near future.

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