Coalition retains cataract rebates
1st February, 2010
The Liberal and National Parties have forced the Rudd Government to back-down from its plan to cut Medicare rebates for cataract surgery, Federal Member for Wide Bay Warren Truss said today.“This is welcome news for the estimated 120,000 people who require cataract surgery each year,” Mr Truss said today.
The Rudd Labor Government had tried to slash the rebate by 51%, putting the surgery out of reach for many people. Instead, the rebates for cataract will only be reduced by just 12%, with leading doctors suggesting that most practitioners will find a way to absorb that cost.
“Labor first outlined its drastic reductions in Medicare rebates in last year’s Budget and from November 1 last year, the Rudd Government cut the rebates that were paid to patients from just over $600 to around $300,” Mr Truss said.
“That left patients, many of them seniors and unable to afford to pay more, to find several hundred dollars more from their own pockets to pay for this vital surgery.
“The Liberal and National Parties were successful in getting Health Minister, Nicola Roxon to do what she should have done in the first place and negotiate with ophthalmologists, after the Coalition twice disallowed the cuts to the rebate in the Senate.
“At no time did the Rudd Labor Government stop to consider the impact its actions would have on patients, instead it wanted people pay to more without regard for the consequences.
“I am pleased that the Minister has finally seen the folly of her mean spirited plan to cut the cataract rebate. Cataract surgery restores much more than eyesight; it restores people’s freedom so they can live their lives more fully.”
