Senator Shoebridge Highlights DVAs Hypocrisy with MLCOA

Senator Shoebridge v DVA

Senator Shoebridge held DVA to account but again DVA refused to admit what they have been systemically doing for the last 12 months.

DVA Chief Health Officer stated, "there is a misconception... if you don't meet DVAs (newly defined and still not yet published) definition of treating Dr, that you cannot complete compensation reports". 

As many veterans who have been forced to MLCOA would attest this is a complete lie. DVA have been forcing veterans to MLCOA for over 12 months if they deemed your nominated Dr didn't fit their definition of "treating GP" or "Treating Doctor".

We have hundreds of emails from DVA showing:

1. Active serving members being told its their on Base MO or MLCOA (and emails from ADF stating their MOs are not permitted to do DVA reports).
2. The veterans chosen Dr did not meet DVAs treating doctor requirement (even though this was never formally defined until this week) so they were forced to MLCOA.
3. Because of patterns of billing from some clinics (which were below MLCOA rate) the veterans chosen Dr could not be used, so again off to MLCOA. 
4. Dep Sec Kefford even tabled a document trying to distract the request to disclose MLCOA rates - trying to put the focus on specialist clinics that perform DVA reports. Also signalled that he wont be releasing MLCOA rates because there is an active tender process ongoing for this contract (despite the tender application phase being closed, and allegedly only on tender submitted by MLCOA).
5. Interestingly, $825M is budgeted to be cut from compensation payouts next year, and almost $100M from medical examinations. At the same time a $5,000 treatment cap has been introduced for allied health. Coincidence? I think not - DVA have started refusing to progress veterans claims to permanent impairment phase unless all conditions are stable - which used to be determined by the veterans chosen Dr. Now DVA is directing their delegates to make this clinical determination, and if you haven't undertaken "all reasonable treatments" you guessed it - no PI assessment, no determinations, no compensation. How do you halt treatment - you cap the funding available to veterans for treatment. Keep them on the claims round about, defer compensation payments, make veterans suffer, and increase their risk to suicide. Delay, Deny, Wait until they Die!