NDIS pricing limits for allied health will be set on Tuesday could disadvantage remote and regional communities

ABC NEWS (Australia)

New NDIS pricing limits for allied health services, including physiotherapy will be set next Tuesday, with some providers saying the cuts don’t make financial sense. Hourly wage decreases, and the introduction of travel caps will mean physiotherapists in the NT will be forced to limit out of clinic care including to children with disabilities and remote indigenous communities.

Transcript

00:00At just two years old, Stephanie has been an inpatient at nine different hospitals,

00:07and until recently living in regional Queensland.

00:10In order to provide Stephanie with the best life, I made a decision as her single mother to move her to a capital city.

00:19Stephanie has quadriplegia cerebral palsy,

00:22and in Darwin her physiotherapist can access an allowance to visit her daycare to assess her needs.

00:28Now, a cap on those allowances may end that service.

00:33I may as well have not done the big move and continued services on Tally Health.

00:41Six-year-old Oscar has been taught how to independently climb stairs and navigate the playground.

00:46His communication improved from out-of-clinic care.

00:49He's able to tell us when we stop the swing, he's actually able to tell us that he wants more,

00:53so he'll tap his chest and then he'll say please.

00:56For NT physiotherapists, the NDIS pricing change will also mean a $40 decrease in hourly pay, as well as the travel cap.

01:04Here, remote Indigenous communities are expected to be hardest hit, as practices struggle to maintain services.

01:11Travel's not a luxury here in the NT. It's a challenge. It takes weeks of planning.

01:17The NDIS says the travel cap will encourage more efficient scheduling by providers,

01:23but voices from the sector say state and territory healthcare systems will bear the brunt of this change.

01:28Medium to long term, people are going to have more issues that may mean that they need to present to the emergency department.

01:37Money saving measures becoming costly.

01:44The NDIS says the travel cap will always be costly.

01:54The NDIS says the NJopa sector ofOhio, to help you.

01:58The NDIS says the NJopa sector of the NDIS.

02:00The NDIS said the NJopa sector of the NDIS.

02:02The NDIS included the NJopa sector of the NDIS.

02:04HeadUnt tão-indigated as the NDIS.

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