Patient groups map strategic push to progress HTA Review implementation

Engaging parliamentarians beyond the health portfolio, including members of the Expenditure Review Committee (ERC), has emerged as a central priority for patient advocacy groups seeking to secure funding and momentum for implementation of the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Review recommendations.

As reported by Health Industry Hub, the Department of Health prepared a funding proposal for the implementation of the HTA Review ahead of the May Federal Budget. However, when Health Minister Mark Butler provided the proposal to the ERC, the Cabinet subcommittee chaired by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with Treasurer Jim Chalmers as deputy chair, the submission was rejected.

With the reforms now facing a funding impasse, Rare Voices Australia (RVA) has written to every Federal MP and Senator calling for implementation funding to be secured through the December Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) process. Cystic Fibrosis Queensland and ACT are pursuing a similar strategy.

Patient advocates have also been seeking a more substantive role in shaping how the reforms are ultimately implemented. RVA recently collaborated with Patient Voice Initiative (PVI) and Lymphoma Australia to facilitate engagement between the patient groups and Minister Butler, emphasising the importance of incorporating the patient voice in the implementation of the HTA Review recommendations.

However, the decision to incorporate implementation of the HTA Review into the closed-door negotiations of the Strategic Agreement between Medicines Australia and the Department of Health has heightened concerns among patient organisations. Advocacy groups fear that the very stakeholders the reforms are intended to benefit will have limited visibility into, and influence over, the process determining how the recommendations are delivered.

Against this backdrop, a recent virtual meeting with Minister Butler, facilitated by PVI, explored how a genuine pathway could be established to embed the patient voice in negotiations on the implementation of the HTA Review recommendations. Minister Butler committed to participating in subsequent virtual meetings every four to six weeks with a small cohort of patient advocacy CEOs, providing updates on progress while giving patient representatives an opportunity to offer further input.

The question of how to broaden political support for implementation funding was raised at the recent Rare Conversations panel convened by PVI and Alexion. When asked by Health Industry Hub which stakeholders beyond the health sector, Minister Butler, and the Department of Health need to persuade to support funding for implementation of the HTA Review recommendations, Professor Andrew Wilson, former Chair of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC), did not provide a direct response. He did, however, express strong dissatisfaction with Minister Butler’s failure to respond to the implementation plan in a timely manner.

With the December MYEFO process emerging as a critical funding opportunity, patient advocates are now considering a coordinated political engagement strategy. Work through PVI and the Australian Patient Advocacy Alliance (APAA) is being explored to engage broader groups of parliamentarians, including ERC members, on the urgency of funding the implementation of the HTA Review reforms.

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