The news

A $370 gap between the subsidy offered to rural patients travelling for specialist health care and the allowance handed to regional MPs headed to Brisbane for parliament will be reviewed by the Crisafulli government ahead of next year’s budget.

“The cost of accommodation has gone up, the cost of travel has gone up,” Health Minister Tim Nicholls told reporters on Saturday after fresh fears reported by this masthead last month that people were delaying life-saving treatment as a result.

“So it’s something very much that we’re aware of, and we’ll be talking about as we go into budget preparations at the end of this year.”

Why it matters

While MPs from regional electorates are given a daily accommodation allowance of $440 to travel to Brisbane when state parliament sits, a rura

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