The claim is made in a direct quote of what Ms Gifford said in the same sentence in the media release that included reference to vision impairment .The sentence quoted Ms Gifford as saying: More than 12 million Australians already have long-term eye conditions and when you consider that 80 per cent of all vision impairment is preventable or avoidable, we question why the Australian Government has enacted changes to Medicare which could contribute to this growth. The media release was prepared by a public relations firm, Royce Communications, and issued on 26 February.It was headed ‘Optometry sector calls for improved access to eye care’, with three sub-headings:
- Optometry Australia calls for equitable access to optometric care under Medicare;
- Reduced Federal Government investment poses immediate and long-term eye health risk for millions of Australian (sic); and
- Older Australians are at particular risk due to greater instances of eye issues.
Ms Gifford’s claims were made following the federal government’s decision to freeze Medicare schedule fees for optometrists (and medical practitioners) for a further four years, as well as increase the time between consultations attracting Medicare benefits to 36 months from 24 months for most people.There has been estimated average growth in the cost of vision loss of $1.36 billion a year since 2004 (from $6.8 billion to $16.6 billion today), a level of growth that is unacceptable . We are at a critical juncture for eye care in Australia. The cuts made to Medicare rebates for optometry consultations in the 2014-15 Budget are creating more barriers to access for those already at a disadvantage. The gap is increasing between the cost to provide optometric patient care and the contribution the government is prepared to make for that care, Ms Gifford said. For older Australian and those on low incomes, this situation threatens to lock th out of accessing eye care as many won’t be in the position to afford an out-of-pocket expense. And with continually reducing rebates, many optometrists simply can’t bulk bill these patients while maintaining a viable practice. We are calling on the Australian Government to apply to optometry the same patient exptions from the Medical rebate reduction as are intended for general practice, to ensure that all patients are affordable equitable opportunity to access optometric care. Optometry Australia believes that the Government is putting access to eye care at serious risk and strongly recommends that the 2015-2016 Budget includes complentary policy measures that will ensure primary eye care continues to be sustainable and accessible for all Australians.
