Fairer fees
AMA SA Vice President Dr Louis Papilion provides an update on the organisation’s ongoing efforts to secure fair, consistent, and transparent remuneration for all medical services under ReturnToWorkSA.
I’d like to provide an update on our ongoing negotiations with Return to Work South Australia (RTWSA).
Our goal remains clear: to ensure AMA rates are adopted for all services provided to RTWSA and that these rates are enshrined in legislation. Achieving this would bring South Australia into line with all other states and territories—delivering equity and eliminating the need for annual fee negotiations.
Currently, South Australian practitioners are reimbursed significantly less than their counterparts interstate. All other jurisdictions remunerate at AMA rates, which reflect both our preferred methodology and a fair valuation of services provided.
We recently achieved a significant milestone for anaesthetists: an 85% increase in remuneration across all item numbers. Unfortunately, this adjustment was not extended to surgeons or general practitioners. The legislation currently ties RTWSA payments to the average private fee charged nationally per item. We believe this data and the collection methods is flawed, as demonstrated in the anaesthetic schedule. Additionally, it doesn’t reflect the additional time, paperwork, and complexity often involved in RTWSA cases compared to typical private patients.
RTWSA has pointed to increasing clinician participation as evidence that current rates are not a disincentive. However, we remain firm in our belief that fair remuneration is essential for sustainability and quality care.
Two years ago, when I joined AMA SA Council, I focused on the stagnant anaesthetic item numbers, which had not changed in 14 years. After persistent advocacy and detailed analysis, this effort led to the recent increase. Around six months ago, we identified similar discrepancies in other specialties. I’m confident that, over time, we will uncover these issues and improve remuneration across the board.
Our mission remains unchanged: to secure fair, consistent, and transparent remuneration for all medical services under RTWSA. We will continue to engage in thorough and determined negotiation on your behalf.
Finally, I would like to thank the RTWSA team for two years of constructive and professional dialogue. While differences in perspective are inevitable, our discussions have always remained respectful and productive.
