00:00This is your dog.
00:04For Lake Grace mother, Katie Wilcox, the past five months have been a challenge.
00:08I got stung by a swarm of bees and ended up with pre-term labour.
00:13A five month stay in Perth to access medical care cost her close to $70,000 for accommodation,
00:20travel and childcare.
00:21The State Government's Patient Assisted Travel Scheme, PATS, has covered less than a quarter
00:25of that.
00:26Oh, beyond a joke.
00:28Beyond a joke.
00:29Advocates say the fuel and accommodation subsidies provided by PATS need to be increased.
00:34No person should be forced to choose between their health needs and other cost of living
00:41measures.
00:42This needs to be fixed immediately.
00:44Eligible patients get about $100 a night for accommodation, less than half the average
00:49price of a hotel room.
00:51A 2015 inquiry found the fuel rebate of 16 cents per kilometre was inadequate, but almost
00:57a decade later it hasn't changed.
00:59Fuel is often north of $2 a litre in our regions is not sufficient, it is grossly insufficient.
01:05It's an $800k journey from Katie Wilcox's home to hospital in Perth.
01:10She'll get about $128 back from the government for fuel costs.
01:14But if she lived in New South Wales, she'd get more than double that amount.
01:18Even though regional West Australians have the furthest to travel to access health treatment,
01:23the fuel rebate in WA is the lowest of any state in the country.
01:27In response to criticism about the low level of PATS subsidies, the state government says
01:31it's invested heavily in regional health care services.
01:35But Ms Wilcox says it's not enough for people who need to travel.
01:39We don't expect a goldmine and we don't expect it all to be covered, but we just expect it
01:46to be fair.
01:47A heavy cost for the same care as families living in capital cities.
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