Medicare Rebates
1. Mental Health Care Items
Eligibility:
To be eligible to receive the Medicare rebates you will first need to visit a GP who will assess you against certain criteria and, if eligible, prepare a Mental Health Care Plan and provide you with a referral to take to your Psychologist .
Nb. Referrals can also be made by Psychiatrists or Paediatricians.
What is a Mental Health Care Plan:
Setting and agreeing on a ‘Mental Health Care Plan involves the GP assessing the patient, identifying needs, setting and agreeing management goals, identifying any action to be taken by the patient, selecting appropriate treatment options and arrangements for ongoing management of the patient, and documenting this on a plan.’
How many sessions can I access:
You are able to receive rebates for 12 sessions per calendar year, although 18 may be approved in exceptional circumstances. Referrals are for a maximum of 6 sessions per referral, so you will be required to return to your GP for further referrals or reviews after each group of 6 sessions. Further to these individual sessions, you are also entitled to receive rebates for 12 support groups per calendar year.
How much is the rebate:
The following table shows our fees, as at November, 2010 and the rebates you can claim from Medicare for the most commonly accessed items.
Service Registered Psychologist (standard fee); $130 Rebate: $81.60