The Australian Psychological Society is calling on the Federal Government to provide patients and psychologists with certainty as more than one million Medicare subsidised psychology sessions face being cut across the country.
The program, which expanded subsidised psychological sessions to all Australians from 10 to 20 under Medicare is set to expire after 31 December, with patients and psychologists already impacted by the uncertainty surrounding the program. President Tamara Cavenett stressed the urgency to act now saying “psychologists must plan their sessions months in advance and are being forced to choose between ending patient care early or patients paying more which many can’t”.
APS analysis of Medicare data has found the additional sessions have been extraordinarily successful, with 1,023,241 additional sessions provided by psychologists in the 2021-22 financial year alone.
President Cavenett stressed these looming cuts would impact communities across the country saying “more than 2,800 sessions per day across Australia would no longer qualify for a subsidy should the Federal Government choose to end the program at the worst possible time.”
“During a mental health crisis we should strengthen Medicare, not weaken it. This program has been extraordinarily effective in making treatment more accessible and affordable and we must make it a permanent feature of Medicare.”
A previous APS member survey found 1 in 3 psychologists were unable to take new clients, up from 1 in 5 in 2021. Before the pandemic, only 1 in 100 psychologists were unable to take new clients across Australia. Of those respondents able to take more patients, 64% reported worsening wait times, averaging 55 days.
Regional psychologists were also significantly more likely to have wait lists (79.2%), compared with metropolitan psychologists (73.5%).
The Productivity Commission has also found that mental ill-health and suicide is costing the Australian economy $220 billion per year with a lack of investment in prevention and treatment a key concern.
"To reduce access to psychological treatment under Medicare would not only compromise the mental health care for Australians - it would hit the economy with reduced participation and productivity. At a time of financial strain and workforce shortage, investment in mental health care just makes good economic sense” Ms Cavenett said.
The additional sessions were also evidence-based with President Cavenett saying “twenty sessions are typically enough for treatments to be most effective and long lasting. Cutting services will force patients to ration their available sessions and make treatment less effective, ironically keeping some in the system for longer.”
"We would never ration insulin or chemotherapy the way we ration mental health care, we would ensure Australians seeking help had access to the dose they need to recover and stay well."
“Many patients tell me they are worried about the services cliff they’re about to fall off, unsure about what next year looks like.”
“Cutting patient care early can cause serious harm and lead to loss of life. We are urging the government to show leadership and continue to provide this invaluable community service.”
For more information, or to arrange an interview call the APS Media team on 03 8662 3358 / 0435 896 444, or email. Find the APS Media team on Twitter: @AustPsych
The APS is the largest professional organisation for psychologists in Australia, representing more than 27,000 members. The APS is committed to advancing psychology as a discipline and profession. It spreads the message that psychologists make a difference to people’s lives, through improving psychological knowledge and community wellbeing.