Regional patients are being forced to endure long and costly journeys for specialist medical treatment because they no longer meet the tightened criteria for assistance with flights under the Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme (VPTAS).
Speaking in Parliament, The Nationals’ Member for Mildura, Jade Benham has called on the Minister for Health to urgently review recent changes to the VPTAS and increase reimbursements in line with CPI and rising costs.
VPTAS reimbursements have remained largely unchanged for the past 11 years and are now the lowest in Australia, despite the significant distances regional Victorians must travel to access specialist healthcare.
“For years, regional Victorians have been calling for a fair and adequate patient transport assistance scheme, and instead we are seeing additional barriers put in the way of people trying to access specialist medical care,” Ms Benham said.
Recent changes to VPTAS have also introduced strict and narrow medical criteria for patients seeking reimbursement for flights to Melbourne.
For patients in Mildura who need specialist treatment that is not available locally, the alternative to a one-hour flight can be more than eight hours on a bus or around six hours in a car.
“For many patients, that additional travel time means they cannot travel to Melbourne and return home on the same day. They are being forced to stay overnight, take additional time off work and incur extra accommodation and living costs simply because they cannot access a flight.
“We have patients with serious health conditions being told they do not meet the criteria for a flight, leaving them to face hours of travel by road to access the care they need.
Patients who do travel are then expected to make do with just $45 a night for accommodation and 21 cents per kilometre.
“If the Government expects people to travel hundreds of kilometres for specialist treatment, it has a responsibility to make sure they can actually afford to get there.
“VPTAS is failing regional patients, and the Carroll Labor Government needs to fix it.”
