GPs voice protest to Better Access cuts
2nd Aug 2011 Byron Kaye all articles by this author
A SLEW of GP stories will this week be presented to the Federal Government by the RACGP as it builds the case against the looming cuts to the MBS rebates for GP mental health consultations.
A Melbourne GP says her colleagues will be “repelled” from working in practices specifically set up to help the most disadvantaged mental health patients.
One Queensland GP says she will be forced to scrap mental health plans altogether in favour of doing more skin cancer medicine in order to maintain a viable business.
Another Melbourne GP says she will be forced to start charging all patients a gap fee for a mental health care plan.
Along with grassroots GPs, other medical bodies, including the AMA, AGPN, RDAA, youth mental health initiative headspace – and now, clinical psychologists – are also lining up to warn the Senate Community Affairs Committee of the impact of the rebate cuts.
Under Budget measures due to take effect from 1 November, existing MBS rebates of $163.35 for a GP mental health plan will be cut to $85.92 for a consultation of 20–39 minutes and $126.43 for a consultation of 40 minutes or more.
With the flood of interest forcing the inquiry to extend its submission deadline to the end of this week, RACGP president Dr Claire Jackson said the college had been “inundated” with testimonials from GPs after it called for personal accounts on how the rebate cuts would affect them. These accounts will form a key part of the RACGP’s submission.
“We are just going to get the tip of the iceberg, but we felt it was really important for the Senate to be aware of the impact from an individual perspective,” she told MO. “Their stories very much raise that.”
These will include that of Melbourne GP Dr Jane Sheedy, who said she would be forced to pass on the financial hit to her patients by charging a gap.
“I may reduce my fee for the care plan a bit, but certainly not down to the level that the government is talking about,” she said.
“[It] doesn’t reflect the time that you put into preparing the plan.”
Queensland GP Dr Ada Tam said mental health plans were so time consuming and would be so poorly remunerated through the planned lower rebates that many GPs would simply stop offering them if the rebates were cut.
“We have a lot of other patients to see to, and if the financial [recognition] is there for something [else], we will just be doing other things,” she said.
With the deadline for submissions set to close this Friday, the Shadow Minister for Mental Health, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, said the inquiry received about 300 submissions by late last week.
Meanwhile, a 4000-signature-strong public petition, initiated by the Association of Counselling Psychologists, is also set to be presented to the Senate inquiry.
REBATE CUTS: GP views
Dr Sharon Monagle:
“GPs applaud these other areas where increased support for mental health services are proposed. However, weakening [general practice] is inexplicable.”
Dr Ada Tam:
“If the financial incentive of the GP mental health plans are cut, I would be unable to provide the same standard of service to my mental health patients.”
Dr Jane Sheedy:
“Reduction in mental health funding will result in my patients not being able to afford access to treatment and will lead to poorer mental health outcomes.”
