Patients pay high price of MRI fee

TENS of thousands of Victorians are missing out on vital but costly tests to detect cancer, birth defects and other serious conditions due to a Medicare freeze, radiologists claim.

With gap fees soaring to more than $150 on MRI and ultrasound procedures for some conditions, the Australian Diagnostic Imaging Association says patients are foregoing or delaying tests for liver, cervical, bone, thyroid, blood, lung and other cancers.

Rebates paid to radiologists for more than 830 services have remained frozen since 1998, despite the federal Liberal Party promising to review the payments before the 2016 election.

ADIA president Dr Christian Wriedt said official statistics showed 66,000 Victorians a year failed to get radiology scans because of cost.

“The key element in cancer is find it early, treat it early,” Dr Wriedt said.

“For a huge number of diseases, particularly in the cancer setting, you need clear images to define it in a way that will allow treatment to begin in an appropriate way.

“Delayed diagnosis means the disease process will be more advanced so treatment may be more severe and how long the patient may live could be reduced.”

The ADIA says the average gap payment for scans is about $100, while complex procedures like MRI and CT will leave patients more than $150 out of pocket.