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Health | November 02, 2017

Horsham health services - Adjournment

Victorian Parliament - 2 November 2017 - Ms KEALY - My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Health, and I am seeking a comprehensive explanation as to why women with a strong family history of breast cancer or women that have been diagnosed with breast cancer are charged $200 for a mammogram and ultrasound in Horsham, when this service is provided to women in Ballarat and Melbourne for free. This additional cost means that women in western Victoria are delaying having this important diagnostic procedure performed simply because they cannot afford it. This is compounded by poor public transport links to Ballarat, which are getting worse due to cancelled services to the Wimmera Southern Mallee region and longer travel times recently imposed by the city‑centric Andrews Labor government.

I refer to a contact I had from a local constituent who asked why our counterparts in Melbourne and Ballarat are able to have this service bulk‑billed and yet in Horsham we have to pay, especially when some people have to have these tests every six months. I therefore ask the minister to explain to the women of my electorate why it costs so much to get a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound in Horsham when it is free for women in Ballarat and Melbourne.