Pat Conaghan MP calls on the Federal Government to rethink its disastrous decision on intravitreal eye injections

Pat Conaghan, Federal Member for Cowper, has slammed the Albanese Labor Government for its reckless decision to remove private health insurance rebates for sight-saving intravitreal injections, warning that it will force thousands of patients in regional Australia to either pay unaffordable out-of-pocket costs or go blind.

“This is yet another example of city-centric policy-making from this Labor Government, which completely ignores the realities of healthcare in the regions,” Mr Conaghan said. “For many in Cowper, access to public ophthalmology clinics is already severely limited. Labor’s decision will only make things worse, leaving vulnerable residents with no affordable options for essential eye treatment.”

From July 1, 2025, patients receiving anti-VEGF intravitreal injections to treat macular disease will no longer be able to claim health fund benefits if the procedure is performed in private hospitals or day surgeries​. Instead, they will be forced into already overstretched public health systems or pay the full cost at private ophthalmology clinics​.

“This is a policy that will leave thousands of people in my electorate, and across Australia, at risk of permanent vision loss simply because they cannot afford treatment,” Mr Conaghan said. “We have already heard from the Macular Disease Foundation Australia (MDFA) that up to 12,200 patients will be affected, and many will be forced to give up treatment altogether​. The consequences will be devastating.”

Regional Patients Left Without Options

The Cowper electorate already faces significant barriers to specialist healthcare access, with public ophthalmology services extremely limited. Many patients cannot get appointments in public hospitals due to lengthy waitlists, and bulk-billing private clinics are virtually non-existent​.

“This Labor Government assumes people can just switch to public hospital clinics. But in Cowper, that’s not an option. Public eye injection clinics are either unavailable or at full capacity, and there are very few bulk-billing ophthalmologists in the area,” Mr Conaghan said.

“People with macular disease don’t have time to sit on waitlists. Delays in treatment lead to irreversible vision loss. This means that for many, the only choice will be to go blind or to go broke.”

The Albanese Government has justified this decision by claiming that hospital-based intravitreal injections are a “low-value” use of resources and should only occur in exceptional cases​. However, Mr Conaghan argues that this completely ignores the realities of regional healthcare.

“The Taskforce report on ophthalmology MBS items claimed that only 3% of patients should need hospital treatment, but currently, 18% are receiving these injections in hospitals​. Instead of increasing affordable access to outpatient treatment, Labor has simply cut off hospital access, without providing any alternative.”

“This is a cost-cutting measure at the expense of people’s sight.”

Mr Conaghan is calling on the Labor Government to reverse this decision.

“The Albanese Government cannot ignore this crisis. People in our region should not have to choose between their eyesight and their ability to pay their bills,” Mr Conaghan said. “I urge the Minister for Health to reconsider this disastrous decision before it’s too late.”