Australian Medical Association Limited
ABN 37 008 426 793
42 Macquarie Street, Barton ACT 2600: PO Box 6090, Kingston ACT 2604
Telephone: (02) 6270 5400 Facsimile (02) 6270 5499
CATARACT CHAOS HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR PROPER
CONSULTATION WITH MEDICAL PROFESSION
AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the ongoing chaos over Medicare patient
rebates for cataract surgery stresses the need for proper meaningful consultation with the
medical profession before cuts or changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) are
considered, not after the event.
Dr Pesce said Parliament will rise without this matter being properly resolved and patients
waiting for cataract surgery will go to Christmas and the holiday season anxious and uncertain
about their sight-restoring operation.
“The AMA position is that the original rebate should have been restored while a formal
consultation process with the profession was put in place to reach a workable agreed outcome
for all parties, but especially for patients,” Dr Pesce said.
“We believe this is still possible.
“The Minister should continue to consult with the profession on the other cuts they made in the
Budget.
“The confrontation and controversy surrounding these savage cuts to Medicare patient rebates
could have been avoided if the medical profession – the doctors who perform these procedures
every day and understand the needs of patients – had been consulted prior to these poor policy
decisions being made.
“We look forward to a productive consultation process being established to fix the mistakes of
the past and avoid similar mistakes in the future,” Dr Pesce said.
26 November 2009
CONTACT:
John Flannery
02 6270 5477 / 0419 494 761
Peter Jean
02 6270 5464 / 0427 209 753
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