COTA Australia has made a submission to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s consultation on Fee Transparency in Health Care, responding to its discussion paper on Informed Financial Consent and Split Billing Practices.
Our submission argues that fee transparency is a basic health care consumer right, not an optional courtesy, and that patients should never proceed with planned treatment without genuine informed financial consent, in the same way clinical consent is required. We highlight the particular impact of unexpected and hidden costs on older Australians, who often manage care on fixed incomes, and call for stronger, consistently enforced arrangements including consolidated billing for care involving multiple providers.