‘Medicare discriminates’: RACGP advocates for women’s health

The RACGP has listed a litany of issues and suggested solutions to ease the financial strain and inequality women face in accessing and providing healthcare in its new submission to Australia’s ninth periodic draft report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.
 
In its letter to the committee, the RACGP details the excessive burden women take on for their reproductive health and how the health system is currently geared against them.
 
It says this include the $145 extra cost for intrauterine devices (IUD) insertion compared to a vasectomy even though they are classified in the same group of surgeries.
 
‘Discrimination against women in the health system often arises as an unintended consequence of various policy decisions rather than direct actions,’ it reads.
 
It states that the incentivisation for shorter consults disadvantages both female patients, who experience more complex conditions, and female GPs.
 
‘Many women are missing out on care they need for common conditions like pelvic pain, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, perimenopause and menopause because they simply can’t afford it,’ it says.
 
‘Time-based consultation also presents a gender pay gap challenge for women GPs.
 
‘Data shows women GPs spend more time with their patients and do more longer consultations.’
 
RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins told newsGP women’s health ‘continues to be siloed off around reproductive health without integration into all other aspects of the health system’.
 
‘Women have traditionally been treated differently in medicine, both as patients and as doctors,’ she said.
 
Medicare discriminates against female patients, Dr Higgins says, and contributes to the gender pay gap.
 
‘The longer you spend with a patient, the more you’re penalised by Medicare,’ she says.
 
‘Our patients’ rebates are not as valued, nor is the time that our female doctors spend with them.’
 
Also included in the response were concerns about variations in abortion access, the need for appropriate training and resources for GPs to ensure ongoing inclusive and affirming care for transgender or non-binary patients.
 
It also points to the importance of cultural competency training for GPs for their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.
 
Dr Higgins says the RACGP is well-placed to provide this advice, with the GP workforce reaching gender parity and strong female representation in leadership.
 
‘Our voice has increased and so has our ability to influence health outcomes for women,’ she said.
 
Although Dr Higgins acknowledges women’s health is a complex space, she says there are simple steps the Federal Government could take to tackle some of these key issues.
 
‘One of those is increasing the Medicare rebate for longer consultations,’ she said.
 
‘Contraception and treatments for menopause should be funded through the PBS and they need to match the rebate for IUD insertions so that women don’t have to carry the increased burden of reproductive health.’
 
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discrimination long-acting reversible contraception Medicare reproductive health women’s health