Thousands of regional Western Australians rely on the Patient Assisted Travel Scheme to access medical treatment in Perth. But there are concerns the scheme’s fuel and accommodation subsidies are failing to keep up with cost-of-living pressures, leaving those who depend on it significantly out of pocket.
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00:00This is your dog.
00:04For Lake Grace mother, Katie Wilcox, the past five months have been a challenge.
00:08I got stung by a swarm of bees and ended up with pre-term labour.
00:13A five month stay in Perth to access medical care cost her close to $70,000 for accommodation,
00:20travel and childcare.
00:21The State Government's Patient Assisted Travel Scheme, PATS, has covered less than a quarter
00:25of that.
00:26Oh, beyond a joke.
00:28Beyond a joke.
00:29Advocates say the fuel and accommodation subsidies provided by PATS need to be increased.
00:34No person should be forced to choose between their health needs and other cost of living
00:41measures.
00:42This needs to be fixed immediately.
00:44Eligible patients get about $100 a night for accommodation, less than half the average
00:49price of a hotel room.
00:51A 2015 inquiry found the fuel rebate of 16 cents per kilometre was inadequate, but almost
00:57a decade later it hasn't changed.
00:59Fuel is often north of $2 a litre in our regions is not sufficient, it is grossly insufficient.
01:05It's an $800k journey from Katie Wilcox's home to hospital in Perth.
01:10She'll get about $128 back from the government for fuel costs.
01:14But if she lived in New South Wales, she'd get more than double that amount.
01:18Even though regional West Australians have the furthest to travel to access health treatment,
01:23the fuel rebate in WA is the lowest of any state in the country.
01:27In response to criticism about the low level of PATS subsidies, the state government says
01:31it's invested heavily in regional health care services.
01:35But Ms Wilcox says it's not enough for people who need to travel.
01:39We don't expect a goldmine and we don't expect it all to be covered, but we just expect it
01:46to be fair.
01:47A heavy cost for the same care as families living in capital cities.