Is Minister Keogh backpedaling on ‘the cap’?

It seems Minister for Veteran’s Affairs Matt Keogh did a backpedal on the allied health-care cap announced in this year’s budget ahead of the ‘consultation’ period that opened this week.

In a press release issued on Monday, Minister Keogh said for the very first time that “the threshold will not apply to Veteran Card holders receiving the Special Rate Disability Pension or Totally and Permanently Incapacitated Pension, or those who have been determined to be catastrophically injured“.

This new information is a very significant backdown in the face of mounting pressure – but was inserted half-way through a press release, peppered with nauseating ‘motherhood’ statements, announcing the commencement of a public consultation process.

Minister Keogh’s public backdown came very shortly after an ‘Open Letter‘ from 10 veteran service organisations declaring they do not support ‘the proposed $5000 Annual Monetary Limit on DVA-funded allied health services’.

The group of 10 suggested that discussions around ‘the cap’ were off the table and that they wished to discuss and cooperate on a significantly different (and eminently more sensible) approach to fixing the issue of ‘over servicing’.

While one could argue that Minister Keogh’s carveout of TPI and ‘catastrophically injured’ clients is a significant appeasement, one could equally argue it’s a digging in of heals on the basic concept – when all an sundry opposed to ‘the cap’ say it simply has to go.

The public ‘consultation’ is now open and Minister Keogh has invited all and sundry to air their views – here.

Brian Hartigan
CONTACT Editor-at-large

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