ELISHA ANDRES
$49 Million Towards Endometriosis, but Aussie Women Are Eager for More
Melbourne gynaecologists and women diagnosed with endometriosis are feeling iffy about recent Federal investments in women’s healthcare benefits.
By Elisha Andres | May 2024
In light of Federal Budget announcements, the Government pledged to invest a whopping $49.1 million towards endometriosis healthcare, adding two new items to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) in 2025.
From July 1 next year, Australians can expect extended consultation times with their gynaecologists and increased rebates in specialist gynaecological care.
This will be the first time the Federal Government has shown support for women diagnosed with this chronic and incurable disease affecting 1 in 9 Australians.
What is Endometriosis?
It’s a common disease where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows outside the uterus. This affects the reproductive organs and fertility. It’s painful and the symptoms are debilitating.
Meet Patty
Patty Pardillo is a 47-year-old mum from Melbourne’s North-Western suburbs. She’s been living with endometriosis for the past 31 years.
“I was diagnosed at the age of sixteen, but I was suffering from the symptoms way before then, probably at around eleven” she said.
Pardillo recalls experiencing severe period pains in her tween years, but after being told by everyone around her that intense period pains are totally normal, she simply carried on.
“My mum would tell me it was normal, and when I would feel pain at school, the nurse at the sick bay would tell me ‘it’s part of being a woman’,” she said.​
​​Endometriosis symptoms are often disguised as intense menstrual cramps.
“All my other friends had period pain too but they seemed okay, so I just thought maybe I have a lower pain tolerance.”
When Pardillo hit sixteen, she was due for an ovarian cyst removal. It wasn’t until this operation the doctors found her uterus was plagued with endometriosis.
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Pardillo’s story is nothing short of a miracle. Despite her 31 year-long battle, she and her husband were able to fulfill their dreams of having a family together. Patty continues her fight against endometriosis with her three children Thaliya, Amaya and Xavier.
Listen to Patty’s Story here:
Looking back on the years, she realises the financial strains of having Endometriosis.
“Getting treated for endometriosis was a huge financial strain for my parents when I was a teenager. And then when I got married and started a young family, I reckon it was even harder”, Pardillo admits.
Treating endo is a multi-disciplinary practice, and simply getting a diagnosis can take up to seven years. This can be attributed to the lack of specialist education in the gynaecology sect of healthcare. So imagine seven years’ worth of multiple gyno consultations with each costing about $200 dollars each. And remember, this is just to get diagnosed.
To further break down the costs, here’s what the average Australian spent on treating endometriosis in 2017.
o Specialist consultation: $100 – $300 per visit
o Ultrasound/MRI scan: $200 – $1,000 per scan
o Hormonal Medication (for pain management): $50 – $200 per month
o Pain relief medication: $20 – $100 per month
o Laparoscopic (surgery for endometriosis): $5,000 – $10,000 per surgery
o Fertility treatment (IVF): $10,000 – $15,000 per cycle
o Indirect Costs (i.e. taking non-paid leave from work): $20,000 per year
(Source: Australian Government Department of Health, Endometriosis Australia)
Keeping in mind, this was in 2017 – so minus our soaring interest rates and increase in the cost-of-living.
Last year, the average Australian spent over four thousand dollars solely on specialist consultations and pain management, even after Medicare rebates and private health insurance cover.
The high costs are justified. Specialist healthcare has never been cheap. What isn’t cheap, however, is spending money on multiple visits with a gynaecologist who knows peanuts about endometriosis.
“Getting extended consultation times is great, but only if you’re seeing a gynaecologist who’s knowledgeable in endometriosis. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of funding”, Pardillo says.
In 2020, Pardillo spent more than ten thousand dollars on consultations and surgeries with a gynaecologist who couldn’t help her case in the end. Only one year later did Patty’s husband convince her to make the move to another doctor who’s better-educated with endometriosis.
Pardillo says the money is best spent being put towards educating existing specialists about endometriosis and how to tackle the vicious disease.
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A "good start" but not enough.
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Meanwhile in Caulfield North, Gynaecologist Dr Rebecca Mackenzie-Proctor from Women’s Health Melbourne in Caulfield thinks the $49.1 million won’t cut it.
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“[The fund] is a start. But it’s really not enough. When you also think about how the budget is put across all the other areas [of women’s healthcare] as well, it’s still only tiny”, she said.
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The investment is a hunky chunk of money standalone, but when one considers the individual costs of getting diagnosed and treated, one can’t help but think there’s more to be done.
