Dr Elizabeth Deveny
CEO, Consumers Health Forum of Australia

Dear Dr Deveny

I write to you today to invite you to stay up to date with the work of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Advisory Committee (MRAC).

The MRAC was established as an independent, clinician and consumer led non-statutory committee, to aid the role of the MBS Continuous Review in providing continued assurance that the MBS will support improved health outcomes for all Australians. The MBS Continuous Review is committed to active engagement with the health sector and with consumers about decisions on how the MBS can be improved. Changes proposed by MRAC will aim to improve the provision of equitable and affordable access to universal health care.

The expertise and knowledge of the Consumers Health Forum of Australia and its members is recognised, as is the benefit it can provide in informing relevant MRAC reviews. To assist in the ongoing participation of the MBS Continuous Review process, new communication materials have been developed.

A new MRAC webpage has been published on the Department of Health and Aged Care website. This page contains current information regarding the role of the MRAC, and information on its current and upcoming reviews. It also includes guidance for submitting a request under the MBS Continuous Review.

A new MRAC Communique was recently published on this webpage, which provides outcomes from the December 2022 meeting. Future editions of the Communique will be published on the webpage following each quarterly MRAC meeting.

To stay informed on the work of the MRAC, I advise you to monitor the webpage regularly for updates and to consider it the chief point of accurate information. I encourage you to share any updates and materials provided on the webpage with your members and affiliated societies when relevant.

On behalf of the MRAC, I look forward to ongoing engagement with the Consumers Health Forum of Australia. 

Yours sincerely,
Conjoint Professor Anne Duggan
Chair
MBS Review Advisory Committee
10 March 2023