Concerns grow over new allied health policy
The Government’s proposed $5,000 cap on allied health care has caused great concern to veteran families and members of Families of Veterans Guild. This proposal will result in 25,000 veterans, war widows and families being worse off, with critical, lifesaving care such as psychology and chronic pain management directly affected.
The Government maintains that most veterans will be better off under this policy. What isn’t being said is that those with the highest care needs, already some of the most vulnerable in our community, will face additional barriers to accessing the care they rely on. The detail of what those barriers will look like, and how onerous they will be, remains unknown, as there has been no consultation on this policy and none is planned until August. For an already anxious community, that is a long time to wait for answers.
There are several issues with this policy. It falls short of the commitment Government has made to veterans and their families. It also penalises veterans and widows for the over-charging practices of a small number of providers, rather than addressing those practices directly. And it offers little real benefit in exchange for a meaningful loss: higher provider fees are traded for strict limits on the number of sessions available.
This policy will make allied health care harder to access; care that is intended to help veterans, their families and war widows manage mental health conditions and chronic pain. Census data shows veterans are four times more likely than the general population to live with a long-term health condition, including arthritis and mental illness. When these conditions go unmanaged, the pressure on veteran families increases further; veteran families are already twice as likely as the general population to experience a mental health condition, and veterans face a significantly higher risk of suicide than the broader community.
Placing limits on the very services that help veterans manage the long-term effects of their service, and help war widows manage the trauma left behind, is difficult to reconcile with the gratitude we owe as a nation. It will also place a greater caring burden on families more broadly. Where allied health care is delayed, reduced, or made uncertain, it is families who will be left to fill the gap – 25,000 times over.
Let’s call this policy out for what it is – a cost cutting measure. A policy genuinely focused on over-servicing would target the small number of providers responsible, not 25,000 vulnerable veterans and widows.
We continue to advocate for this policy to be scrapped and are working through the detail closely. We want to acknowledge the Senators on the Defence, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee who share these concerns and have stood with our community on this issue.
You can help by writing to the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, and to your local Federal Members of Parliament and Senators, to stand up for what is right.
