Vital Help for Women after Breast Cancer Mastectomy
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Medicare Australia is reminding breast cancer survivors who’ve had a mastectomy that they can be reimbursed for external breast prostheses.
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Joint Release
THE HON Nicola Roxon MP
Minister for Health and Ageing
THE HON Tanya Plibersek MP
Minister for Human Services
1 October 2010October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Medicare Australia is reminding breast cancer survivors who’ve had a mastectomy that they can be reimbursed for external breast prostheses.
Breast cancer remains the second most common form of cancer in females behind lung cancer, with more than 12,000 Australian women diagnosed each year.
In 2008, the Australian Government committed $31 million to provide reimbursements for women to get new or replacement external breast prostheses following mastectomy surgery.
During this time 25,000 Australian women diagnosed with breast cancer have received financial support through the Government’s External Breast Prostheses Reimbursement Program.
More than $9 million in claims for external breast prostheses have been administered since 2008. Eligible women are able to claim up to $400 for each new or replacement external breast prosthesis every two years.
Eligible women are encouraged to contact their local Medicare Australia office, visit the website www.medicareaustralia.gov.au or telephone 132 011, to discuss the program.
This vital program is providing real, practical support for women during one of the most confronting times of their lives. By enabling easy access to reimbursements as well as nationally consistent support towards the cost of external breast prostheses, the Australian Government is helping to ease the burden for women and their families.
The Australian Government supports women with breast cancer, their families and carers through a number of initiatives. This includes funding:
- the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre to improve breast cancer outcomes
- the McGrath Foundation to recruit, train and employ specialist breast care nurses located in 44 communities across Australia, with nearly 90% in rural and regional areas.
- $120 million to provide BreastScreen Australia with digital mammography equipment,
- $168 million over four years to subsidise Herceptin®
- $2.5 million to the National Breast Cancer Foundation
- $1.1 million to Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) and
- $2.7 million to both the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre and BCNA for resources and projects that support women diagnosed with breast cancer.
For more information on the program and eligibility, visit www.medicareaustralia.gov.au or call Medicare Australia on 132 011.
For all media inquiries, please contact the Minister Roxon’s Office on 02 6277 7220 and/or Minister Plibersek’s Office on 02 6277 7200.
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