media release
Date 11 March 2004
For immediate release
www.sane.org
Howard’s ‘Medicare Plus’ cheats
Australians with mental health problems
says SANE
The Howard Government’s ‘Medicare Plus’ package cheats Australians affected
SANE Australia
The mental health charity
SANE media contact
Lorraine Chiroiu
03 9682 5933
0414 427 291
campaign@sane.org
by mental health problems of services they urgently need, says SANE Australia,
the national mental health charity
Australians with mental health problems urgently need access to allied health providers,
especially psychologists able to provide psychological therapy for depression and other
psychiatric illnesses. This need is all the more urgent because of the strong association
between untreated depression and suicide. Yet GPs are forbidden by Commonwealth
Government rules from referring patients to psychologists for Medicare-reimbursable
treatment.
The new ‘Medicare Plus’ arrangements hold out the hope of access to such treatment,
only to snatch it away again. While they provide a new MBS item for GP referral to a
psychologist or other allied health professionals, the small print reveals that this is only
available to patients already registered with the Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) program
– for which they have to be over 75 or have complex, chronic physical health care
needs. In other words, for Australians affected by mental illness needing psychological
treatment, ‘Medicare Plus’ excludes access to those who need it most.
‘This is a tragic lost opportunity for the Howard Government to do something practical,’
says Barbara Hocking, Executive Director of SANE Australia. ‘The “Medicare Plus”
package cheats Australians unable to afford private health cover of one of the most
effective treatments for depression available, and which they are currently denied.’
SANE Australia call on the Government to extend access to this MBS item for allied
treatment by psychologists to those who urgently need it: those affected by mental
health problems.
‘We strongly believe that by improving treatment for mental health problems in this way,
the Government would not only save money in the long term, it would also save lives
through the impact on suicide,’ says Barbara Hocking.
Interviews and further information
SANE media contact: Lorraine Chiroiu
03 9682 5933
0414 427 291
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SANE Helpline
Information and referral
on mental illness
1800 688 382
www.sane.org