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Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: News Articles => Topic started by: okarol on August 17, 2011, 12:36:19 AM
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Higher bills hitting home dialysis
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 » 05:00am
Kidney disease patients want state governments to increase subsidies for home dialysis to help cover bills.
Thousands of chronic kidney disease patients want state governments to increase electricity subsidies for home dialysis to help cover bill hikes.
Some patients are reputedly turning their back on home dialysis because of the costs.
More than 3000 people with chronic kidney disease hook themselves up to dialysis machines at home, relieving state hospitals of the hefty cost of treating them.
Dialysis is crucial for people whose kidney function is less than 10 per cent and need the machines to clean their blood to stay alive.
Having dialysis at home means they do not have to travel to renal clinics several times a week and can clean their blood more often.
Hospitals also benefit by saving about $30,000 for every patient on home dialysis.
But with power bills skyrocketing, many of those on home dialysis fear they will no longer be unable to afford to continue.
Kidney Health Australia estimates the average annual out-of-pocket expenses for home dialysis patients is about $1400 due to increased power and water to run the machine.
Some state and territory governments have subsidies to cover the extra costs for someone having home dialysis up to six hours a day at least three times a week.
But the subsidies vary dramatically and have not been adjusted to reflect recent hikes in electricity bills and future rises of another 30 per cent.
Victoria provides up to $1300 to home dialysis patients, as well as annual water and electricity subsidies.
NSW hands out about $250 for assistance with electricity bills, Queensland about $314 and the ACT and Tasmania $113.
Kidney Health Australia says unless governments lift the subsidies many of those on home dialysis will have to return to the hospital system.
A spokeswoman said hospitals encouraged patients to have home dialysis, promising patients they would not be out of pocket.
'People are telling us, we just can't afford it, it's too expensive, we're out of pocket, it's costing more money to be at home and I want to go back to hospital',' she told AAP.
'Only nine per cent of dialysis patients are employed. The remainder are self-funded retirees or on a pension.
'They are socially and economically disadvantaged.'
Pensioner Ray McClenaghan, 72, said that after starting home dialysis in 2009 his electricity and water bills had both doubled.
He says he receives a $62 quarterly subsidy to put towards his $400 power bill and has half his water bill paid because he lives in a housing commission home.
'By doing this we save the government thousands of dollars a year but they don't appreciate that and they give us nothing back,' he said.
'A lousy $62 every three months would be less than half the power the machine uses.
'You can imagine going into a bathroom and turning on the taps and letting them run for five or six hours. That's how much it costs to use the machine.'
The federal government's carbon tax is expected to force electricity bills higher.
It plans to give $140 a year to those with essential medical equipment such as home dialysis machines to cover higher bills.
Queensland Health's director-general Dr Tony O'Connell said his state's electricity subsidy was 'the highest in Australia'.
'Like Victoria, the Queensland government also offers additional rebates for patients and pensioners, depending on their circumstances, including a pensioners' electricity rebate, a water rebate and a rate rebate,' he said.
A Victoria Health spokesman said the state's subsidies were indexed to rise with inflation.
'We want to continue to support people in this way,' he said.
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Health/2011/08/17/Higher_bills_hitting_home_dialysis_651086.html