Jillian Skinner calls for urgent action on affordable eye injections

At Macular Disease Foundation Australia’s 25th anniversary event at Parliament House in Canberra, former NSW Health Minister the Hon. Jillian Skinner AM delivered a powerful reminder of what is at stake for Australians living with macular disease.

Speaking from personal experience, Jillian told attendees that the eye injections she receives every eight weeks are “the only thing standing between me and not being able to see,” after already losing functional vision in her left eye. She is one of approximately 117,000¹ Australians who rely on ongoing treatment to prevent avoidable blindness and maintain their independence.

Jillian welcomed the Federal Government’s recent decision not to proceed with planned changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule that would have stopped patients from claiming eye injections through private health insurance when treated in private hospitals or day surgeries. She cautioned that the proposed reclassification would have been a “financial catastrophe” for more than 12,000¹ people who depend on these settings for care.

“For many older Australians, particularly those on the Age Pension, the cost of treating their macular degeneration is already at breaking point,” Jillian said. “Many in our community already find themselves facing a choice between their groceries and maintaining their sight through regular treatment.”

Jillian emphasised that public hospitals cannot currently absorb unmet demand, with fewer than one in seven² providing eye injection services. Where the services do exist, they are severely overstretched.

Jillian urged the Federal Government to adopt Macular Disease Foundation’s practical, costed policy solutions, including incentives for ophthalmologists to bulk bill pensioners, reform of the Extended Medicare Safety Net so it doesn’t reset annually for lifelong treatment needs, and increased funding for public hospital outpatient clinics.

“We have a historic opportunity,” she said, “to ensure that no one in Australia loses their sight simply because they can’t afford treatment. Let’s work together to make sight preservation a true national priority.”

Macular Disease Foundation is deeply appreciative of Jillian’s ongoing support as an Ambassador, drawing on her lived experience of macular disease to advocate for the improved access and affordability of sight-saving treatment.

References

^1. Services Australia data on eye injection services delivered between 01/01/2022 to 31/12/2023, processed up to 17 February 2025.  
^2. Macular Disease Foundation Australia. 2025, Public hospital eye injection treatment services mapping project.

Posted: 23 March 2026