Thirty years following the creation of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), a review is long overdue. CHF believes that this review and a commitment to the regular evaluation of Medicare items is an essential to maintaining a world class health system and ensuring that funding is available for high value care.

There is a substantial body of research supporting the importance of consumer involvement in health decision-making and a growing literature focussing specifically on the role of consumer representatives. Given the growth in both recognition and evidence to support consumer representation in health policy making, it was disappointing that a specific committee dedicated to consumer elements was not in place from the start of the MBS Review in 2015.

However, CHF appreciated the opportunity to engage with the Taskforce to establish the Consumer Panel in September 2016 and is pleased to see the results of the 2018 survey show it has provided significant value to the process, both from the consumer and the clinician perspectives. In particular, the Panel has developed a number of tools and templates to support the inclusion of consumer evidence and perspectives into committee deliberations. We hope these tools will continue to be used to support consumer engagement in the ongoing review of MBS items.

Click on the link below to read the CHF Response to the Report from the Consumer Panel