Changes to the Prostheses List, which were put forward under the Morrison government, will lead to a reduction in services that support cardiac patients to live well with their condition. Help us to protect these vital patient services.

What are cardiac implantable electronic devices and why do we need them?

There are an estimated 220,172 Australians using cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), and this is increasing at a rate of approximately 18,000 people a year1.
CIEDs include pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators and implantable loop recorders.
These devices treat a range of life-threatening heart conditions including irregular heartbeat and heart failure and prevent sudden cardiac death.
A person could be diagnosed with one of these conditions at a young age or later in life. Their device is with them for their lifetime and this means that they will need regular appointments with their cardiologist. They also will often need special arrangements for any unplanned health interventions such as an emergency hospital admission or MRI scan.
Patients with CIEDs already face additional healthcare costs as a result of managing their chronic condition. The burden of these diseases and managing them can weigh heavily on patients, who often have a lot on their mind about their health.

What are cardiac technical services?

Cardiac technicians support cardiologists to ensure that CIEDs are working effectively.
For patients with private health insurance, these services are provided by trained Cardiac Technicians, employed by medical technology companies, in conjunction with the patient’s cardiologist. These technicians are highly trained experts in cardiac devices.
Cardiac technical services are provided on demand, without additional costs to patients, and are often provided in rural and regional clinics, meaning patients can access these services closer to home, without long commutes to a metropolitan area. Many regional locations have no service alternatives for their device checks.

What will the changes to cardiac services mean for patients?

The former Government began a reform process that could change these services by reducing or removing their funding. These changes are expected to begin in 2023 and it is really important that a secure funding pathway is established before then to ensure patients still have access to cardiac services, and will not have to pay an out of pocket cost.
The risks of reducing or removing the current funding without an alternative funding pathway are:

• Patients will face additional out of pocket costs for accessing cardiac services
• Patients in rural and regional areas will have to travel to larger cities for their device checks increasing the time and cost of managing their condition
• Patients will have little option on when they can access cardiac services making it more difficult to manage their condition as part of their everyday lives
• Cardiac patients’ private health insurance policies will cover less than they do now, but their premiums will remain the same
• If patients decide to drop their health insurance, they will be forced onto long waiting lists for cardiac clinics in the public health system and will have little choice about when they access theses services
• Patients will have to wait longer for unplanned care such as MRIs potentially delaying diagnosis and treatment of other health conditions
• Patients may skip their scheduled device checks which could negatively affect their health

Show your support for cardiac patients by joining our campaign. We are asking the Government to ensure that the cost of cardiac services does not fall onto the patient and to ensure that sustainable funding is available to maintain these services into the future.

References

1. KPMG Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device (CIED) service valuation, Appendix 1, MTAA Submission Options for Reforms and Improvements to the Prostheses List, February 2021