The Morrison Government and the Australian Medical Association (AMA) has today jointly launched a new guide that aims to better aid Australians when faced with making decisions around medical treatments.
The AMA’s Informed Financial Consent Guide; A Collaboration Between Doctors and Patients will help patients better understand medical treatment fees and out of pocket costs.
The Guide will be made available from doctors, medical practices and organisations, and the AMA website.
Providing an estimate of fees and the costs payable by a patient after any Government and health insurer rebates is the foundation for informed financial consent. Most doctors do it well already.
The new Guide will complement the Morrison Government’s activities to provide improved medical specialists costs transparency, to make our system more effective and sustainable.
Improved transparency will help people choose the right specialist, taking cost into account without waiting for an appointment when they may feel locked in regardless of cost.
The Government’s medical specialists’ fee transparency website is being developed in consultation with consumers, medical professionals and insurers to ensure it includes appropriate information and features.
The Morrison Government’s out-of-pocket costs transparency website is being developed in consultation with consumers, medical professionals and insurers to make sure it includes appropriate information and features to assist and support consumers about decisions on their health care.
The website is expected to incorporate MBS benefits and information about insurer gap payment arrangements, in addition to the doctor’s maximum fee and the most common out-of-pocket costs for a treatment.
The website is expected to be delivered by the end of 2019.
