Boorowa Local Health Advisory Committee (LHAC) reminds the community about some changes to transport arrangements to medical appointments that may impact local residents.
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Chair Phil Armitage said the changes had occurred since the LHAC last issued a media release on the Isolated Patient Transport and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS).
"We all know that Boorowa is a community that is a bit isolated from transport, making it difficult to access a wide range of health services," Mr Armitage said.
"Most of us get to specialists in places like Canberra, Wagga or Sydney under our own steam; either driving ourselves or being driven by family or friends. Where this is not possible we often fall back on Community Transport; a volunteer based, Federally-funded program. And given the difficulty sometimes we just don't go."
IPTAAS is a subsidy scheme that allows people who drive, or are driven, to medical services over 100km away (Canberra fits the bill) to claim some financial assistance.
Where the referring GP states that an escort is needed and/or accommodation is needed at the destination an additional subsidy can be claimed to cover some of the cost.
Mr Armitage said the scheme applied to those with health care cards and those without.
"Non health care card holders need to make a $30 co-payment. Health care card holders do not need to make a co-payment," he said.
"If you need to make frequent trips (say for radiology or dialysis) that are shorter than 100km you can also qualify for assistance if you travel over 200km a week. To do this you need to keep a diary. There is a form for this on the website.
"To qualify for the subsidy of 22c per kilometre your referral must be to the nearest provider of that type of service. That means if you are referred to Canberra for, say, an endoscopy when this service can be provided in Young your claim may be rejected. So it makes sense to check that your referral is to the nearest service provider.
"If you need to claim for accommodation for you and/or your escort there are a number of different rates. When staying in private accommodation (say family) the rebate is $20 per person per night. Staying in not for profit (say Ronald McDonald House) or for profit (the local motel) accommodation, the rebates start at $43 per night and $60 with escort. For longer stays in the last two there are some time based rebate increases.
"And the forms have been simplified and you can also apply online. There are two main new forms, a Doctor Referral Form (completed once for a new specialist) and a claim form with a number of parts. These forms are NOT pre-printed, they need to be accessed from the internet and printed when needed. If you don't have access to the internet you may need to ask your referring doctor, your specialist, the hospital or a friend to do this. Also you may be able to do this in the library for a small fee.
Further information can be found on the EnableNSW website at: http://www.enable.health.nsw.gov.au/iptaasor by contacting the Boorowa Health Service on 63853004.
