Table 4 Medical Benefit Scheme (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS/RPBS) items to Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health participants by Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) and partnership status: Mean (95 % CIs) total MBS costs, MBS claims, PBS/RPBS costs, PBS/RPBS claims and PBS/RPBS scripts presented
Gold Card holder, widowed ≤ 3 years n = 114 | Gold Card holder, widowed > 3 years n = 209 | Not DVA, widowed ≤ 3 years n = 136 | Not DVA, widowed > 3 years n = 271 | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MBS | |||||
Total costs ($AU: mean 95 % CIs) | 1213 (968,1521) | 1070 (904,1268) | 1265 (1027,1556) | 1166 (1006,1352) | 0.64 |
Claims (number: mean 95 % CIs) | 25.4 (21.7,29.6) | 21.3 (19.0,24.0) | 26.9 (23.3,31.0) | 24.0 (21.7,26.6) | 0.08 |
GP visits (number: mean 95 % CIs) | 10.6 (9.4,11.9) | 9.7 (8.9,10.7) | 9.6 (8.6,10.7) | 9.1 (8.4,9.8) | 0.21 |
Gap payment (% yes) | 9.8 % | 4.9 % | 81.3 % | 76.6 % | <0.0001 |
PBS(RPBS) | |||||
Total costs ($AU: mean 95 % CIs) | 998 (816, 1220) | 1024 (879, 1192) | 1020 (845, 1231) | 868 (761, 989) | 0.33 |
Claims including repeats (number: mean 95 % CIs) | 38.8 (33.5,45.0) | 38.7 (34.6,43.3) | 38.1 (33.2,43.8) | 32.9 (29.9,36.3) | 0.10 |
Scripts presented (number: mean 95 % CIs) | 15.3 (13.4,17.4) | 15.2 (13.7,16.7) | 14.5 (12.8,16.4) | 12.2 (11.2,13.3) | 0.001 |
Co-contribution ($AU: mean 95 % CIs) | 149 (129, 172) | 151 (136, 169) | 168 (146, 192) | 152 (138, 167) | 0.54 |