‘So far behind’: Why preventative skin checks should be covered under Medicare
One Australian is diagnosed with melanoma every 30 minutes, yet the government does not provide free skin checks at any GP.
Dr Ken McCroary is a GP operating in Campbelltown, who has to charge $160 for a 20 minute skin check, which he believes is unaffordable.
“Medicare is so far behind in indexation and cost of living increases, more and more people are being slugged with these prices,” Dr McCroary told Chris O’Keefe.
“If you get melanoma in Australia, your survival depends on how rich you are.”
Founder and CEO of Skin Check Champions, Scott Maggs, has been fighting for more easily accessible services since his friend passed away from melanoma at 26 years-old.
“Our health economist worked out that we’ve saved the health care system $42 million so far just by checking close to 10,000 people,” Scott told Chris.
“With the level of technology changes happening right now, we need to come together and push this forward.”
See more highlights from Chris O’Keefe below:
Image: Getty