RSL calls for Urgent DVA Fee Action to Give Veterans and their Families a Fair Go
MEDIA RELEASE
The Returned & Services League of Australia (RSL) is continuing its call on the Federal Government to review the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) fee schedule for veteran healthcare and to significantly increase payments.
The RSL wants the DVA fee schedule indexed annually to the Consumer Price Index and a one-off increase to account for the Medicare indexation freezes imposed over the past decade.
The current settings of the DVA fee schedule of payments for the provision of healthcare services to veterans mean that healthcare providers are often paid much less for treating veterans in comparison to clients who are funded by other government and non-government fee arrangements.
RSL Australia President Greg Melick said that, like most Australians, veterans and their families need timely access to healthcare services when and where they require them.
“We know that prevention is better than cure, and that there is a pressing need to remove the barriers that veterans and their families face in accessing the services they need to secure positive health and wellbeing outcomes,” Greg Melick said.
“These barriers to veterans accessing healthcare are longstanding. They have been identified in successive reports and inquiries, including the current Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
“It is incumbent on the Government to address these disparities as a matter of high priority to improve health outcomes for veterans and their families.”
The RSL’s discussions with veterans and their families, healthcare providers and healthcare peak bodies have informed the RSL’s call for the Government to comprehensively review the DVA fee schedule, as well as include measures in the 2024-25 Federal Budget to make a significant uplift in that schedule, introduce annual indexation of the fees in-line with the Consumer Price Index, and provide a one-off increase to account for the Medicare indexation freezes imposed over the past decade.
This call is a cornerstone of the RSL’s pre-budget submission to the Federal Government.
“The situation is critical, with peak professional healthcare groups reporting practitioners have ceased or limited the treatment of DVA patients, with more clinicians predicted to do so if funding does not increase,” Greg Melick said.
“The barriers to obtaining services are particularly acute for the 45 per cent of veterans who live outside of major metropolitan areas, exacerbating the difficulty for Australians accessing specialist care and services in rural and regional communities.
“The small-scale measures made in previous budgets to address this issue have had little to no real impact for veterans and their families. The barriers and inequities remain, it is time for the Government to make the wholesale changes that are required to give veterans and their families a fair go.
“This is a crucial national issue. Our veterans have served our nation, and they are entitled to and deserve rightful access to affordable and appropriate quality healthcare,” Greg Melick said.
