The 10 additional Medicare subsidised psychology sessions brought in during the pandemic will not continue into next year, Health Minister Mark Butler has announced.
The federal government will reduce the number of subsidised psychology sessions available from 20 to 10, effectively halving the number of subsidised sessions available for individuals, reverting back to the pre-COVID program.
The government cited an independent review that found the Better Access Program – which doubled the number of subsidised psychology sessions available in August 2020 – had aggravated waitlists and not helped those in rural and low socio-economic areas access services.
Butler said while the Better Access program has been good for some existing patients, it had also meant that the number of new patients able to get into the system had declined.
He also said that most of the growth in services had gone directly to high-income Australians, with low-income individuals facing the greatest barriers to access.
“The report shows Better Access is failing some Australians,” Butler said.
“Gap fees and wait times make it inaccessible and unaffordable for too many. The most disadvantaged Australians – those among us with the greatest need – have the least access to mental health services.”
This year, the Jean Hailes National Women’s Health Survey found nearly half of women (46 per cent) reported their mental health had declined since the beginning of the pandemic, while 21 per cent said their mental health had prevented them from partaking in everyday activities.
The Australian Psychological Society has previously advocated that the additional 10 subsidised sessions should be a permanent feature of the Better Access program.
Butler confirmed today that patients who have a mental health treatment plan and current referral for sessions will still be able be able to access those sessions without having to go back to their GP in 2023.
He said the government would hear from key experts and people with lived experience of mental illness in early 2023 to hear about how the program can be improved.
Greens MP Stephen Bates called the decision “disgraceful”.
“In the middle of a mental health crisis, to halve the number of sessions people have access to is shameful,” Bates said.
“The answer to inequality of access is not to slash services that save lives but to make mental healthcare universal under Medicare.”
On Monday, Bulter also announced that a referral from a medical or nurse practitioner would be needed to obtain a free PCR test from January 1. The decision is part of the government’s National COVID-19 Health Management Plan for 2023.