Medicare Benefits Schedule to face gender audit, starting with ultrasounds and contraception

The federal government will conduct a gender audit of parts of the Medicare Benefits Scheme to determine whether rebates for procedures need to be changed.

Doctors and midwives have been critical of the scheme in recent months and say rebates are sometimes larger for faster and less complex procedures for men.

Medicare rebates have an impact on how much a patient may have to pay out of pocket for a particular procedure.

Medical procedures, consultations and diagnostic services are listed on the MBS, with the government setting a recommended fee for those items.

The government then pays a percentage of that recommended fee to the patient to help cover treatment costs.

When the government recommended fee is higher, so is the rebate paid to the patient.

Which sections of the scheme will be looked at?

The audit will examine the rebates for insertion and removal of long acting reversible contraceptives and diagnostic imaging.

Gynaecologists and GPs have argued insertion and removal rebates for contraceptives like intra-uterine devices are not enough to cover the costs of the procedure, leading to higher costs for practitioners and patients.

IUDs are one of the most effective contraceptives on the market but Australia has relatively low uptake compared to other countries.

While many patients have positive experiences getting the device inserted, others have told the ABC pain during insertion has caused them great distress with expense of pain relief options during the procedure raised as a key issue.

Increasing use of long-acting reversible contraceptives is a key goal of the National Women's Health Strategy, with the government allocating $5.2 million in the budget for scholarships for healthcare professionals to train in removing and inserting them.

The audit will also examine the rebates for imaging like ultrasounds, with women's health specialists critical that more complex scans like internal pelvic ultrasounds attracted lower rebates than less invasive ones like scrotal scans.

Alongside the audit of scan rebates, the federal government will change the rules around ultrasound referral to allow nurse practitioners to refer women for ultrasound services around medical abortions.

Professor Kirsten Black from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Sexual Reproductive Health Committee said the move is a good step.

"RANZCOG welcomes the recent announcement of the gendered audit of MBS items for diagnostic imaging and Long Acting Reversible Contraception (including IUD and implants) related procedures," she said in a statement.

"These services must be accessible and affordable for all women, MBS items should be updated to reflect equal reimbursement for similar men's procedures."

Assistant Minister for Health Ged Kearney, who is responsible for women's health, said the audit is part of an "ambitious reform agenda."

"There are many ways that gender bias creeps throughout our health care system," she said in a statement.

"From lack of access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, to disparities in costs faced by women."

"We want to see more women have a better understanding for contraception as well as better access to long-acting reversible contraception."