The rebate for private labs to conduct polymerase chain reaction,or PCR,testing – offered at drive-through and pop-up clinics across the country – will be reduced from $85 to $68.85 from October 1. The new rate will still be higher than the Medicare rebate paid to public labs.
The tests,which cost about $50 to run,must be bulk-billed for the providers to bill Medicare,so the change will not result in out-of-pocket fees for patients.
But John O’Dea,the deputy chief executive of Australian Pathology,the peak body for private pathology providers,said providers would have to restrict PCR testing to labs in larger centres.
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“The minister and government were asked not to make these savage cuts,” he said. “These cuts will impact patients’ access to testing and undermine Australia’s national response capabilities.”
O’Dea said the threat of new variants of COVID-19 meant “now is the wrong time to dismantle Australia’s pathology COVID response infrastructure”.
Butler said while Medicare-funded pathology testing would continue “beyond the end of this year”,its longer-term future was up for discussion.