“This is a really significant win …for anyone in the country trying to access specialised health services” Emma Phillips Exec Director, Can Assist
Rebates to ease NSW rural patients’ burden
Tag Archive for: IPTAAS
More than $140 million in NSW budget for regions to help with travel for medical care
The state government is set to almost double the rebates for people in regional areas who need to travel for medical treatment.
Rural and remote patients forced to skip vital medical treatments because they couldn’t afford to travel will be thrown a lifeline in the NSW Budget this week.
An increase in travel and accommodation rebates for patients travelling long distances for treatment “can’t come soon enough.” Emma Phillips Executive Director, Can Assist
See Can Assist’s testimony to the NSW Upper House on this matter.
Excerpt from Submission below:
Our submission seeks increased budget allocation for an existing government scheme – The Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS), not only to lift rebate levels but also to improve the profile and processes of the scheme. We see broad applicability to the customer service, health, and regional clusters. Can Assist has actively been seeking change for some time now. To date we have: made two separate submissions to the Inquiry into Health outcomes and access to health and hospital services in rural, regional, and remote NSW, provided our personal testimony to the Upper House Committee conducted two meetings with NSW Health and one meeting with Minister Hazzard. We have met with several other regional MPs on the matter.
Excerpt from Submission below:
We identify THREE broad problems with regards to the provision of palliative care in country NSW. The severity of these problems, and their consequences are magnified with distance from metropolitan and regional areas. Our insight speaks predominantly to the experience of those who choose to die at home – which, in a rural setting is typically very expensive and, in many cases, simply not possible.
