Medicare Rebates for Psychology Treatment

Medicare rebates are now available for both individual and group  psychological therapy provided you have a recognised psychological condition.

You need to get your GP to refer you for psychological services under a GP Mental Health Care Plan if you wish to obtain the rebate for up to 10 individual sessions and/or 10 group sessions per calendar year.

The rebate for clinical psychological services is $124.50 for 50 minute individual therapy sessions. The fee for a standard 50 minute session with Catherine Madigan is $185.00 so your out of pocket expense is only  $60.50.

To ensure that your Medicare Rebate is available you must:

• bring a referral letter  stipulating the number of sessions you can have , e.g. six, from your doctor  to your first session.
• bring a copy of your mental health treatment plan to your first session.
• ensure that the referral letter stipulates individual and/or group therapy if you intend on doing group therapy.

If you do not bring the correct paperwork to your appointment you will not be able to get the Medicare rebate.

Private Health Fund Rebates

PLEASE NOTE: Psychologists are able to offer you private health fund rebates if you have extras cover. Depending upon your health fund, you may be eligible for rebates for both individual and group therapy. These rebates significantly reduce the cost of your treatment. If you are unsure what your entitlements are, you are advised to check with your health fund before commencing treatment. You are not entitled to claim both your Medicare rebate and your private health fund rebate for any one given psychological session, you either claim under Medicare or under your private health fund, but not both.

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