RACGP urging the government to restore mental health rebates

In its submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs regarding the Commonwealth funding and administration of mental health services, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) strongly argued for the restoration of GP mental health services. The College is gravely concerned regarding the proposed cuts to the Better Access program* and the subsequent impact on mental health delivery for every patient age group, demographic and geography throughout Australia.

Dr Liz Marles, RACGP Vice President and GP in Sydney, said that general practice plays a crucial role in the delivery of early intervention and prevention mental health services, and represents a significant part of the mental health workforce.

“General practice provides whole patient, coordinated, ongoing, healthcare for people with mental health conditions as diverse as depression, social phobia, bereavement, postnatal depression, anxiety disorder, sleep disturbance and bipolar disorder. As such, general practice must be supported to ensure ongoing, high quality access to mental health services in Australia.”

Dr Marles highlighted that the cuts to the Better Access program announced in the 2011-2012 Federal Budget will affect an estimated 1 million patients per annum, risking the current high patient access levels, quality of patient care and the mental health workforce capacity.

“Mental health training and skills are core to general practice and our members are really concerned about how the changes to the Better Access initiative will affect patients and the quality of care provided,” Dr Marles said.

“The College and the profession are anxious that many people with mental illness would no longer be able to afford to see their GP – their first point of contact for care and advice – for mental health plans because the Medicare rebates will be up to 50 percent lower than they currently receive,” she said.

In its submission, the College recommends an immediate suspension of the proposed cuts to the Better Access program, and calls on the Government to conduct a comprehensive review, including consultation with the profession, consumer groups and all other stakeholders, to identify a revised approach which does not reduce access to high quality mental healthcare support for Australians.

The College’s submissions will be available on the committee’s website at www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/comm_fund_men_hlth/submissions.htm.

In its supplementary submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs, the College also provided further information regarding the role of general practitioners in mental health service provision, the RACGP Vocational Training Program, mental health ongoing professional development activities.

The committee’s inquiry comes after sustained lobbying on the issue by the profession, the RACGP and members of United General Practice Australia.

The RACGP is optimistic that the information provided in its submission will assist the committee in its consideration of the role of general practice in the delivery of mental healthcare.

Notes:

*Cuts to Better Access program

The 2011-2012 Federal Budget reduced funding for GP mental health services by $50.1 million ($306.9 million over 4 years) through reductions in GP Mental Health Care Plan rebates – including Medicare item 2710 – and the number of allied psychological consultations available to patients from a potential 18 per year, to a potential 10 per year. Under the new arrangements, Medicare rebates for preparing care plans will be reduced from the current $163.35 rebate to:

• $126.43 for consultations lasting more than 40 minutes
• $85.92 for consultation lasting between 20 and 40 minutes

The government continues to justify the cut based on BEACH data, which suggested that GPs were only spending 28 minutes on the consultations. However, the BEACH data only shows part of the picture, as the ‘28 minutes’ does not include time spent coordinating patient care and GP liaison with other mental health and healthcare professionals and associated paperwork. The latest AMA survey results confirm that GPs are spending an average of 52 minutes preparing MBS Item 2710. The Better Access Evaluation Report showed that 93 percent of GPs currently bulk-bill item 2710.

Details of the Senate Committee’s inquiry can be found at:

www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/comm_fund_men_hlth/index.htm.