Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, can I reiterate—and it relates to the program that was the subject of the last discussion, prompted by the question from the member for Canning—that we are seeking details of the operation of the Medicare rebate by psychologists. My question once again is: under this measure, will all psychologists have access to Medicare for every service they provide? If it is not for every service, what services is it for? If it is not for every psychologist, how will psychologists have such access determined? Will psychologists have direct access to Medicare or will there need to be a GP referral? Is the government intending to scrap the Better Outcomes for Mental Health program? That ought to be capable of a yes or no answer. Does the government have an average figure for out-of-pocket costs paid by patients who currently access psychiatrists who are entitled to Medicare rebating? If so, what out-of-pocket cost does the government project that people will be required to pay for accessing psychologists with the benefit of Medicare rebating? To pick up the point of the member for Canning: it is one thing to say that people will get access to psychological services and have a Medicare rebate to support them, but if the remaining out-of-pocket cost is still prohibitive then that obviously creates an access issue. We would like an answer to that question from the parliamentary secretary.

Given that the spatial distribution of psychologists and psychiatrists in this country is very much confined to major cities—indeed, very close to the centre of capital cities—how will Australians in regional, rural and remote areas benefit from the Medicare rebate arrangements for psychiatric and psychological services? The parliamentary secretary would be aware that funds are provided under the budget to increase access to treatment services provided by workers such as psychologists, social workers and mental health nurses in rural and remote areas, but the delivery mechanism for this funding is not at all defined. How will these services be delivered? Will it involve Better Outcomes for Mental Health—once again, that relates to whether or not that program is going to still be in existence—or will the delivery mechanism be the More Allied Health Services Program? Will accessing the services of a psychologist, social worker or mental health nurse require a GP referral? How many services are expected to be delivered each year under this program? What types of services are going to be funded and provided by these health professionals?

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