The Nationals’ Member for Mildura, Jade Benham, has called on the Minister for Health, Mary-Anne Thomas to provide an explanation for the increasing delays in reimbursements under the Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme (VPTAS).
Ms Benham asked the Minister to explain why it is taking in excess of five months for forms to be settled and when will this time frame improve.
Ms Benham noted that Sunraysia Information and Referral Service (SIRS), who often pays travel costs upfront on behalf of patients is owed for 241 forms, totalling $288,255.83, from as far back as October 2024.
The VPTAS is designed to reimburse rural Victorians for accommodation and travel expenses incurred when they travel over 100 kilometres one way for specialist medical care. The payments—officially promised within six to eight weeks—are now taking several months.
The Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme is critical for people in the Mildura electorate, but the length of time organisations and individuals are waiting for their travel costs to be reimbursed is unacceptable and placing a large strain on patients and providers.
“I’m hearing too often from affected residents who are enduring long waits for their travel costs to be reimbursed,” Ms. Benham said. “This delay is causing additional stress and patients shouldn’t have to choose between putting food on the table and seeking treatment.
“Obtaining a specialist appointment is hard enough as it is,” she said. “With the increasing costs of living, to then have to pay upfront costs and wait months for reimbursement places an unnecessary burden on regional Victorians.
“Organisations such as SIRS and Sunraysia Cancer Resources are not-for-profit and are not bottomless pits. They need these reimbursements to be able to continue the work they do and be able to provide this service to patients.
“Rural and regional Victorians already face significant disadvantages in accessing healthcare,” Ms. Benham said. “The Minister for Health must act immediately to allocate the resources necessary to process these claims promptly. People should not have to fight for access to the health services they need and are entitled to.
“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage health and regional Victorians are paying the price.”
