Medicare – Better Access to Mental Health Scheme

In 2006 Medicare introduced the Better Access to Mental Health Scheme. This initiative is now widely used, and provides assistance to anyone experiencing particular psychological difficulties.

These include:

There are some problems that Medicare does not directly cover under this scheme – including, couples counselling, parenting therapy, neuropsychological assessment, learning disabilities, and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (this has it’s own Medicare scheme).

Referral process

If your GP suggests a referral through this Medicare scheme, he or she will complete a mental health plan. Typically this will involve a long appointment so that your GP can discuss the history of your problem, determine whether you meet criteria for one of the above conditions, identify goals for your treatment, and complete a short questionnaire. Your doctor may then recommend a psychologist and give you the paperwork to bring along to your appointment. You can choose a psychologist that is different to the one suggested by your GP. The psychologist you see will provide written feedback to your GP about your treatment and progress. It is possible to access up to 10 psychology visits per calendar year (6 session block + 4 session block) when referred this way.

Psychologists need to be registered with the Psychology Board of Australia and Medicare in order to provide services under this the Better Access Initiative. Clinical Psychologists are viewed as having specialist experience in treating the above problems, and therefore Medicare provide a significantly higher rebate for seeing a clinical psychologist.

For more information on this scheme visit - http://www.psychology.org.au/medicare/fact_sheet/