New patients benefit
Support for rebatable mental health session cuts
A TOP Tasmanian mental health body has backed a federal government decision to halve the number of Medicare subsidised psychologist appointments, saying it will make access to services more “equitable”.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler announced earlier this month the number of rebated psychology sessions an individual could access would be halved as of January 1 – a move that has caused angst among some government backbenchers.
A University of Melbourne report into the Better Access scheme, commissioned by the government, recommended the supported sessions be retained and targeted at people with complex mental health needs.
The previous government had doubled the appointments in 2020 in the early days of the pandemic.
The Mental Health Council of Tasmania, the state’s peak body for community-managed mental health services, says the move to cut the number of available rebated appointments would improve access to care, echoing Mr Butler’s argument that the additional services had been going to existing patients instead of new ones.
“The 20 sessions isn’t an equitable approach,” MHCT chief executive Connie Digolis said. “Especially in a place like Tassie, where we are well below the national average for access to psychologists and psychiatrists.
“Then it would be arguable as to whether most Tasmanians are actually able to take advantage of that [20 sessions].
“And that while we offer more sessions, it can be creating an environment where we’re offering sessions to less people. And then we’re really blocking the system for people to be able to access any sessions at all.”
Ms Digolis said a “conversation” needed to be had in Tasmania regarding “whether there is more that we should be doing to be able to provide earlier intervention for people”.
Jacqui Lambie Network senator Tammy Tyrrell said she was “horrified” by the cut to subsidised mental health sessions.
“Psychologists are telling me that this will make an already bad system worse,” Senator Tyrrell said.
“People will have to spread their sessions out so far they are ineffective.”