Can you add more suggestions re travel & accommodation schemes in Australia
NSW Gov is asking for comments re travel & accomodation schemes - but, really, it relates to ALL states .... If you live in rural/regional/remote areas, make your concerns KNOWN to the powers that be ..... and JOIN OUR PRIVATE GROUP to share/agitate for better reimbursements! https://www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/nsw-regional-health-plan?fbclid=IwAR1pSqCbCrPsargRf6xFxO817kIRjlrwB7Ll6evGRs1AOivg5VC9ZIaaWyU I reckon it is all of the above - as the hoops needed to jump thru for IPTAAS are ridiculous. 3 things that need to change asap - 1) ALL family members on the Medicare card should be able to contribute to the 200k a week travel required to access the payments - not each individual having to travel that amount themselves. 2) The specialist referrals for chronic/terminal conditions should last for the length of the treatment, not needing a new referral every 2 years. Either the patient gets better & the treatment/claims stop - or the patient passes away & the treatment/claims stop. 3) Essential Dental Treatment (eg extractions required before undergoing some forms of chemo) currently need to be done in a hospital to be able to make a claim (which takes up essential hospital beds) when they can be readily done in the Dental Chair .... THIS NEEDS to be changed - as we still need to travel for the service, but are not allowed to claim for it & it is an essential part of the patient's treatment. NOT having it done, can cause death or permanent disfigurement. And that is just the beginning ...... feel free to do the survey, tell them your ideas - hopefully some of them will be carried thru!
Navigating the minefield
I fall outside the norm. I live in a motorhome with no fixed abode. I had a GP in Maclean, first mammogram in Coffs Harbour, biopsy at Sydney Breast Clinic, 2 x surgery at Lifehouse, scan and drain at Goulburn then referred to Canberra for radiation. I chose Canberra because they have accom attached to the hospital and caravan parks in the city as a back-up. After reorganising my life to stay put for 2 months, I've just been told that the waiting list for Canberra radiation is 6-8 weeks so they have shunted me back to Sydney. Does anyone know which hospitals have accom attached to them as there are no caravan parks in the city. Has anyone stayed in the accom? What's it like? (the rooms in Canberra looked like cells).
