We often receive questions about accessing psychology services under Medicare. We welcome your enquiries and are sharing some of the various options (and complexities)!  There are a couple of ways to access care:

• Medicare allows access to fee rebates for an appointment with a psychologist for up to 10 appointments each calendar year (Jan-Dec) to help people access evidence based-psychological treatments.  Your General Practitioner can assess if you meet criteria for treatment for a concern (such as an adjustment disorder, anxiety, depression or a number of other conditions), and are eligible for a Mental Health Treatment Plan MHTP and referral letter.  
• Those with chronic health conditions, such as cancer, stroke, or diabetes, may require a team of health professionals to support their wellbeing and can also ask their GP if they are eligible for 5 allied health appointments; this may be with an individual clinician or combination of allied health professionals (such as psychologist, dietitian, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, or combination), under a Chronic Disease Management CDM plan.

It is really helpful to check if you are over your Medicare SafetyNet (which also runs Jan-Dec each year), as this can really help with out-of-pocket outpatient gap fees charged by most private services.  We also suggest you check eligible family or those with whom you live are registered together, and encourage you to learn to use the MBS Medicare APP as it is really helpful for tracking your health care costs each year and how close you are to the SafetyNet.  Patients may also wish to check private health insurance entitlements or pay privately. 

If you want more information, please see the Australian Psychological Society: Better Access to Mental Health Care initiative under Medicare | APS (psychology.org.au)