PATS changes will have to wait as advocate’s pleas fall on deaf ears
Mandy Payne had hoped for a better outcome after visiting South Australia’s parliament to campaign alongside the state opposition.
This story is now free to read. Help Murray Bridge News tell more stories like this by subscribing today.
Changes to the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme will not be brought forward from July 1 to help Murraylands cancer patients, the state government has ruled.
Murray Bridge cancer survivor Mandy Payne visited SA’s parliament last Wednesday as she continued to advocate for regional patients affected by the recent fuel price spike.
As Murray Bridge News reported last month, she had been calling on the government to bring forward eligibility changes which will allow Murraylands patients to access a subsidy of 32.8c per kilometre to access health care in Adelaide; and to increase the subsidy by more than 0.8c on July 1.
She was welcomed by Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn, who argued that regional patients should not have to choose between health care and household budgets.
“We want families across the regions to attend critical appointments with confidence, knowing it won’t come at a crippling financial cost,” Ms Hurn said.
“This change is already planned, but they must be delivered now.
“Patients simply cannot afford to wait.”
However, in parliament that afternoon, Premier Peter Malinauskas ruled out any changes to PATS beyond those already planned for July 1.
“I am looking forward to this change being implemented … to reflect the sorts of concerns that Mandy speaks to,” he said.
Governments could always spend more on health, he said, and the current government would do so when its upcoming budget was passed.
“I am very excited about the difference we are going to make on the first of July,” he said.
“We (will be) providing more investment in our PAT scheme, in terms of its generosity, in comparison with any other jurisdiction in the country.
“We want to help those people who need it most … but you have to try to get a balance right between economic investments, health investments, education investments (and) roads investments.”
Health Minister Blair Boyer argued that the government had already delivered “the biggest increase to that fuel rebate we had ever seen”, from 16c to 32c, in 2022.
Compared with the cost of travelling one kilometre by car, he said, the current rebate was “pretty good”.
At today’s fuel prices, running a 10-year-old Toyota Corolla would typically cost about 12.8c per kilometre, according to RAA prices and Carsales fuel economy figures.
However, a diesel Toyota Hilux of similar age would cost 19.8c/km.
The average price of unleaded fuel in the Murray Mallee region was 194.2c per litre on Monday, according to the RAA.
That was well down from a high of 262.3c in late March, but about 20c higher than it was before the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February.
Diesel was much higher: around 247.3c.
