Media Release
Australians Will Vote Against Planned Cuts to Pathology Funding
A recent Keep Pathology Bulk Billed online poll showed that Australians will vote against cuts to pathology funding.
Read the full media release here.
Expectant mothers and the elderly could soon be paying out-of-pocket costs for vital blood tests after the Australian Government cut pathology funding for tests disproportionately needed by women.
From 1 July, the federal government is cutting $356 million from pathology services, halving the Medicare rebate for Vitamin B12 and urine tests, which are used to determine a woman’s pregnancy, diagnose certain types of anaemia and ensure the right antibiotics are given for urinary tract infections.
Doctors also use the tests to assess a woman’s quality of life, including for overall health checks, to investigate unexplained fatigue or diagnose causes for mental health or behavioural changes, such as cognitive decline in the elderly. Vitamin B levels can also help diagnose intestinal diseases, genetic diseases, liver disease and autoimmune diseases. These cuts will most significantly impact women because they make up 66 per cent of the population accessing these important tests.
New analysis from Australian Pathology — the peak national body representing Australia’s private pathology providers — shows planned cuts to funding for pathology tests are overwhelmingly opposed by Australians. A recent poll, conducted via a database of Australians who have signed on to support Australian Pathology’s Keep
Pathology Bulk Billed campaign, revealed 92 per cent of people would change their vote at the upcoming election based on the issue.
Last year’s Federal Budget removed a 25-year indexation freeze on about one-third of pathology tests — but left the funding freeze in place for the clear majority of items, including those disproportionately accessed by women.
It means pathology centres may need to charge a gap fee after 1 July for those tests on which the 25-year indexation freeze remains.
Australian Pathology has ramped up its campaign after the government recently refused to reverse the cuts and increase funding for all pathology items.
Key peak clinical groups, including the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Australian Medical Association and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia, all say the cuts should at least be delayed pending a proper review into their impacts.
“The government is cutting your Medicare rebates for pathology tests and this will most significantly impact women because those are the tests that are most commonly accessed by women,” Australian Pathology CEO Liesel Wett said.
“Australians clearly understand the need to protect their pathology tests from funding cuts that would undermine bulk billing and the quality of health care they receive.
“They expect political leaders and policymakers to respond to their calls for funding that support the essential role pathology plays in the nation’s healthcare system and they are almost universally prepared to vote against politicians that don’t.”
The cuts will also affect regional Australians, with about one-third of pathology collection centres – and thousands of pathology workers – located in regional, remote and Indigenous communities.
Pathology services in remote, rural, regional and Indigenous communities run at a higher cost because they have increased labour costs and more complex logistics — such as flights to transfer samples to the pathology lab for diagnostics. Without additional government investment, it will be unsustainable to continue offering critical services to patients in these areas.
“The government has committed to ensuring nine out of 10 GP visits are bulk billed by 2030, but that won’t help people in a cost-of-living crisis if they have to pay for their pathology tests to ensure they get an accurate diagnosis,” Wett said.
“It makes no sense to invest in one part of Medicare without addressing pathology cuts that are now less than four months away.
“It is essential that all Australians have free and easy access to pathology tests that let you and your doctor make informed decisions about your health care.
“We want to keep pathology bulk billed and the only way to do that is for decision makers in Canberra to stop the cuts and increase the funding.”
*Australian Pathology commissioned the poll via a database of Australians signed up to the Keep Pathology Bulk Billed campaign. 5,229 respondents participated in the poll.
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