Budget cuts hit cancer treatment as key centre warns of closure
Sid Maher, Political Correspondent
The Australian
November 21, 2012 12:00AM
PRIVATE hospitals are warning of nationwide cutbacks to chemotherapy services - and one of the nation's largest regional cancer treatment centres faces closure - over a decision to slash federal government funding for chemotherapy drugs.
The Australian Private Hospitals Association has warned that the cost of providing treatment to thousands of cancer patients could rise by up to $100 for every chemotherapy infusion as part of the decision, which will save the federal budget $40 million a year.
Why has the Labor / Green / Loon / Independent "Co Party Government" been able to find in excess of $2.5 Billion annually for their Islamic Colonization of Australia, via their "open borders" asylum seeker policy, but says it cannot continue to fund Cancer Patients Chemotherapy?
Sure these people are predominantly Australians, and as such, are, in the eyes of this Union / GetUp funded Government, very low on it's list of priorities, however even for the Australian Labor Party this is a new low.
Australians react to this despicable attack upon our most vunerable citizens via Sydney's #1 morning radio program hosted by Ray Hadley on Radio 2GB.COM / 873 AM.
With medical facilities unlikely to be able to pass on the increase in prices charged by pharmacists for the drugs, they fear patients could be forced to seek treatment in an overcrowded public system if services in private centres are scaled back.
St Andrew's Toowoomba Hospital in Queensland has warned its 25-chair unit - one of the nation's largest regional centres funded from the federal government's regional cancer care program - would face increased costs of $800,000 to $1m as a result of the decision and would not be viable when the cut took effect on December 1.
Cancer advocates met with federal Health Department officials in Brisbane last week over the issue.
The controversy has been sparked by a Health Department decision to cut by more than 70 per cent the price paid under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for Docetaxel - a drug used to treat breast, ovarian, prostate and lung cancer.
The cut was made under the government's price disclosure regime, which factors in discounting in prices charged to pharmacists by drug manufacturers to set the government price.
With the latest decision, the scheme has saved a total of almost $200m since the amount paid under the PBS for a range of chemotherapy drugs was first pared back when the regime was introduced in 2009. Revolts by the medical fraternity helped overturn past attempts to find savings from cutting spending on some chemotherapy drugs.
Opponents of the latest cut argue the decision on Docetaxel takes away the last drug where large margins were paid, eroding the ability of pharmacists to use the profits to cross-subsidise other aspects of chemotherapy treatment. This, they argue, will force higher costs to be passed on to private hospitals or patients.
A coalition of groups concerned about the cut - including the Cancer Council, the Private Cancer Physicians of Australia and anti-cancer advocates canSpeak - warns that a portion of the government's savings need to be reinvested back into the pharmacy sector to prevent increased costs being passed on to cancer patients.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon said he was concerned about the decision and would hold talks with the other independents, including Tony Windsor, and the Greens to have it overturned. "This is the worst form of false economy," Senator Xenophon said.
"What it will do is cost-shift to the public sector . . . and public sector pharmacists say they won't be able to cope. The whole issue with chemotherapy is it's time-critical.
"The patient can't afford to be on a waiting list. It has to be done on the same day."
The Cancer Council has expressed concern that the looming impasse between private providers and the government could have an impact on cancer treatment in regional areas.
Australian Private Hospitals Association chief executive Michael Roff said private hospitals would face cost increases as a result of the decision and even a small reduction of services of 10 per cent would mean 20,000 cancer patients being forced on to the public system.
He said to recoup costs, private hospitals would have to charge patients about $100 extra a treatment. Some patients required several treatments a week.
"In the majority of cases, private hospitals won't be able to pass those on to private patients because our contracts with health funds prevent that," Mr Roff said.
He said the outcome would vary from hospital to hospital depending on how they were supplied. "Some hospitals will be able to continue providing service," he said. "Some have indicated they will limit the types of services that are provided. Some have indicated they are looking at capping the number of treatments they provide to minimise the hospital's financial exposure. And some have indicated that they have no option but to cease providing chemotherapy services altogether."
St Andrew's Toowoomba Hospital chief executive Ray Fairweather said the increased costs that would be passed on to the chemotherapy unit would make the hospital's financial situation untenable.
"It puts us in a very difficult situation whereby we either accept the cut, which is virtually impossible for us to do so, or we consider closing the service, which is the likely scenario."
Mr Fairweather said the facility had opened an upgrade - from 15 chairs to 25 chairs funded through the federal government's regional cancer care incentive - on November 12.
"The paint has only just dried. And now with the federal government announcing this reduction, and the passing on of those costs to the private hospital, we are in a situation where we have to consider very seriously the situation of closing the service virtually from December 1," he said.
The facility provides 7700 patient treatments a year and serves the Toowoomba region as well as western Queensland and northern NSW.
A Health Department spokeswoman said the December 1 price cut for Docetaxel would bring the price the government paid into line with the market price. For many years, pharmacists had been charging the government 20 to 75 per cent above market rates, meaning the government had paid in some instances $2800 above the market price, she said.
She said prices paid by cancer patients for PBS medicines were not affected by the price reduction.
"Pharmacists and hospitals cannot charge patients extra for PBS medicines," the spokeswoman said. "The department is aware that some private hospitals and pharmacists are concerned that Docetaxel price reduction may impact on the viability of providing chemotherapy drugs in some pharmacy settings.
"It is important to recognise that the PBS pays for the cost of the medicine, and the clinical services pharmacists provide in this sector are supported through funding arrangements with the hospitals.
"Therefore, as this relates to pharmacy dispensing remuneration, I have encouraged the (Pharmacy) Guild to provide specific examples to my department of where the current dispensing fee structure may not meet the cost of providing the dispensing service.
"Without this information, the government cannot be drawn on whether pharmacists or hospitals are appropriately funding the services provided to cancer patients."
Ian Roos, the chairman of advocacy group canSpeak, said one of the biggest concerns for patients was cost. "Many have lost their jobs, there is a burden on their family to take time off to travel to get treatment. They do not need this additional worry."
