"Compulsory travel to Perth declined due to no Medicare item number for procedure."

Context: PATS are now declining my request for my flights to be paid for, for travel to and from Port Hedland to Perth for treatment to coincide with IVF treatment. Previous trips for the same treatment have been paid for by PATS.

Undergoing IVF is a tough journey at the best of times - specialist appointments, invasive tests, a medication regime long enough to stock your own pharmacy and the never-ending bills that just seem to keep coming. Add to that, living regionally in a town that offers no IVF services, it makes you wonder how people keep going.

I am required to travel to Perth WA (from Port Hedland) frequently in the lead up to an IVF cycle to receive intralipid infusions to prepare my body for what we hope will be a successful IVF cycle. Unfortunately, PATS have started declining my requests to travel. This comes after quite a few trips to Perth to receive the exact same treatment have been funded by PATS. PATS state that because the procedure I'm undergoing is not linked to a Medicare item number, my travel to receive the above-mentioned treatment will not be covered. I have provided letters from my IVF specialist to PATS confirming the type of treatment I'm receiving however this is now to no avail. PATS simply will not pay.

At my last request for my flights to be paid for (which was declined), PATS had a gynecologist contact me. This gyno does not know my case, had none of my medical history to site and as I understand it, is not a specialist in the IVF field. I was queried about what treatment I was receiving and also why I needed this treatment. PATS then formally rejected my request for funded travel based on the advice from this gynecologist. 

This rejection has made it incredibly difficult to proceed with treatment - we rely on any financial assistance we can get in order to help with the financial burden that comes with receiving IVF treatment. 

I feel my case has been unfairly judged and decided upon by a medical professional who is not qualified in the field of IVF and this has led to myself and my partner being affected by a tremendous amount of additional financial stress.