Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm happy to have the opportunity to ask some questions of the minister about a particularly important issue, and that's to do with the health care that we provide to the people who have served our country. I imagine that those who have joined us in the Federation Chamber today are from the department. I just want to acknowledge the work of the people in the Department of Veterans' Affairs. It's very important work that you have to do, and that also goes for the office in Darwin, which does exemplary work. The department is one part of our support to our veterans, but it's a very important part.

To the minister, my questions are around the Medicare freeze and some of the work that we might need to do there to make sure that our veterans are getting the care they need and are not falling through the gaps due to health professionals deciding not to take on DVA clients. Last year, the AMA flagged some concerns about the Medicare freeze—that it had an impact on DVA's fee schedule and that the indexation freeze was affecting not only psychological services but also specialists, including surgery, medicine, psychiatry and ophthalmology to name a few. Of those specialists who were surveyed by the AMA, almost 30 per cent were no longer committed to treating veterans. I've maintained a dialogue with friends of mine who are health professionals to encourage them to stick with it until we can improve the situation, regardless of the disadvantage they face in taking on DVA clients. The AMA survey also found that 44 per cent of respondents said they'll keep seeing veterans if the freeze continues—I congratulate that 44 per cent—with the remainder considering other ways to charge veterans or closing their books entirely, which is unfortunate.

This is obviously a larger issue in rural and regional areas, like my own electorate, where access to allied health specialists is already a problem and has become worse with the impact of the freeze. For example, an old commando mate of mine, when he moved away from Sydney to a regional area, was unable to find a provider willing to take him on as a DVA client. As admitted by the health professional in the regional area, this was a direct result of the gap between what they charge and DVA's fee schedule. Of course, this issue was highlighted during the recent Senate inquiry into suicide by veterans.

My questions, and I'm happy to provide them in writing, are: Can the minister advise what action has been taken to ensure that veterans are able to access allied health treatment? Is the minister or his department collecting evidence of veterans being turned away from services because of the Medicare freeze? Has the minister heard from any providers raising concerns about this gap? Has the minister written or communicated with the Minister for Health about the impact of the freeze? Has the minister made any representations on this issue to the Prime Minister and the Treasurer to reverse the freeze to ensure veterans get the services they need? Is there any plan for any adjustments to be made to address this issue? Have there been any discussions about decoupling the DVA repatriation medical fee schedule from the Medicare rebate? Have any costings been completed with a view to increasing the amount paid by DVA to health service providers? Has the minister engaged with providers to discuss these issues? And, what actions is the minister taking to ensure that veterans are able to access what they are entitled to?

There are a number of questions there. I appreciate, again, the work of the department to really look at this issue seriously. We must provide for our veterans and ex-service personnel, whether they've served one day or many, so that we can get better outcomes.

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