MEDTECH IN CANBERRA

Walking the corridors of power,  medtech leaders, industry innovators  and  patients were among the majority of faces filling Parliament House. Led by the Medical Technology Association of Australia’s (MTAA) CEO, Ian Burgess, the leading voices of medtech had the chance to be heard en masse by some of the nation’s most influential  ministers, shadow ministers and policy-makers.

The pilgrimage was part of the industry’s effort to strengthen ties between medtech and government, as well as to highlight the economic and life-changing benefits medtech delivers to Australians.

On Tuesday, industry leaders met with a number of senators and members, including Senator Kristina Keneally, Senator Amanda Stoker, Shadow Minister Ed Husic MP, and medtech champion John Alexander MP to name a few.

On the agenda were patient implant cards, value-based healthcare, and the Agreement, co-signed by the MTAA and the Federal Government, to help lower Private Health Insurance (PHI) premiums for Australians.

Speaking to PulseLine MTAA’s Ian Burgess said the industry was pleased with the positive response from MPs and Senators during the delegation’s one-on-one meetings.

“These meetings with law-makers were an important opportunity for us to press the need for government regulations to keep pace with technology advancements in order to allow Australians to have access to the latest medical technology at the best value,” Mr Burgess said.

“Unfortunately, the prostheses list  has not kept pace with these advances, meaning major health issues like atrial fibrillation, which affects 460,000 Australians, isn’t able to be treated with the latest catheter ablation technology because the prostheses list does not currently provide for the reimbursement of non-implantable devices.”

PulseLine understand the MTAA’s board, led by Johnson & Johnson’s Gavin Fox-Smith, also met for one-on-one discussions with both Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, and Shadow Treasurer, Chris Bowen.

As the government and opposition both move into the election season, the board was determined to ensure the co-signed Agreement between industry and government is implemented in full, and the $1.1 billion in cuts to the industry are passed on to Australian consumers.