Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty funded by the Australian government's Medicare scheme (1995-2007)
Received 8 March 2009; received in revised form 29 April 2009; accepted 9 June 2009. published online 02 September 2009.
Abstract
Objective
To describe the provision, through the Australian state-funded Medicare system, of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) and its laser-assisted variation (LAUP) to the population of Australia between 1995 and 2007.
Study Design
Case series using a comprehensive national administrative database.
Setting
The Commonwealth of Australia.
Subjects and Methods
Subjects comprised the population of Australia. The raw numbers of procedures, reimbursement amounts in Australian dollars, and per capita adjustment nationwide and in each state/territory for UPPP and LAUP for each calendar year from 1995 to 2007 were downloaded from a publicly accessible database run by Medicare.
Results
The Australian federal government paid AUD 8.2 million for 19,534 UPPP procedures and AUD 1.1 million for 3270 LAUP procedures in the calendar years 1995 to 2007, inclusive. There is substantive variability between states in provision. Over time, provision of UPPP has declined slightly compared with population growth and overall Medicare provision. LAUP provision has declined markedly.
Conclusion
Provision of UPPP under Medicare in Australia has declined slowly relative to population growth and overall growth in Medicare per capita provision. Laser-assisted UPPP (LAUP) has steadily declined and is now rarely used compared with the peak in its provision in the mid 1990s.
aWoolcock Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney, and the National Health and Medical Research Council Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Australia
bFlinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, and the Memorial Hospital, North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
cSt. Vincents Hospital, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
dUniversity of Wollongong and the South-Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Corresponding author: Nathaniel S. Marshall, PhD, Sleep and Circadian Research Group, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, PO Box M77, Missenden Rd, NSW Australia 2050
Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article.
ABSTRACT