Mental health advocates have criticised the reduction of Medicare-funded psychology sessions from 20 to 10, warning it could have a detrimental impact on the community. Read more:
Laura Strehlau says reducing subsidised psychology sessions will not help people fully address their mental health issues.Australians can access 10 subsidised psychology sessions in 2023 rather than the current 20.
A statement released by Health Minister Mark Butler said the Better Access Initiative, under which the additional subsidies were provided, “was not delivering for all Australians equally”. One of its recommendations was for the additional sessions to continue to be made available and be targeted towards those with complex mental health needs. Ms Strehlau, who uses Twitter to advocate for those with mental illness, has condemned the move to reduce the subsidies for additional sessions.
As Ms Strehlau’s mental health improved, she moved to fortnightly sessions and now has one every three weeks. While psychologists set their own fees, the Australian Psychological Society’s recommended fee for a session is $280, so if a practitioner uses this as their fee, without a subsidy, this is how much their patient would have to pay for any sessions beyond 10.Clinical psychologist and senior lecturer at Deakin University David Hallford said he believed the reduction of subsidised sessions would have a detrimental impact on mental health within the community.
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