Patients could flock to public hospital emergency departments for diagnostic imaging services like X-rays and CT scans in order to avoid paying up-front fees introduced to offset federal funding cuts, radiologists warn.
The Australian Diagnostic Imaging Association’s president, Dr Christian Wriedt, said on Monday that if the Turnbull government implemented its plans to cut the bulk-billing incentive for non-concession holders, many centres would pass on losses to about three million patients nationally.
Radiologist Dr Wriedt said that in order to avoid up-front costs for services such as X-rays, ultrasounds and MRI scans, many patients would turn to public hospital emergency departments to access them for free. This included those who suffered minor car accidents, back pain and work injuries, he said.
“Imagine if your son falls out of a tree and hurts his arm. Why take him to a GP and then get referred for an X-ray – incurring costs at every stage – when you can simply go to the emergency department and be charged nothing?”
If only 10 per cent of patients who are currently bulk-billed chose to do this, he said, it would still add about 300,000 more patients to state and territory emergency departments, which were already under pressure, adding, rather than saving costs.
The Turnbull government expects to save about $650 million over four years from cutting bulk-billing incentives for pathology and diagnostic imaging services. Health Minister Sussan Ley has said the payments had proven inefficient in encouraging significant improvement of bulk-billing rates since Labor introduced them in 2009.
Dr Wriedt estimated that radiologists would charge patients between $54 and $101 up-front for an X-ray if they factored in the lost bulk-billing incentive. After patients received their Medicare rebate, they would still be out of pocket between $6 and $56, he said.
He said that the association’s 430 private radiologist members would be forced to abandon bulk-billing if the cuts went ahead because Medicare benefits for diagnostic imaging services had not increased to reflect inflation rates for about 17 years.
Health Minister rejected the “alarmist” claims, saying there was no evidence to support them.
“Every year Australia’s diagnostic imaging sector receives $3.13 billion in diagnostic imaging in Medicare benefits. We are simply bringing their incentives for bulk-billing a patient into line with GPs,” Ms Ley said.
“It’s disingenuous for pathology companies to try to recover a bulk-billing incentive from patients they are not bulk-billing – it’s worse they are now trying to actively scare patients to support it.”
Radiologists would retain the payment when they bulk-billed concession card holders and children under 16, she said.