ALP reducing the number of Psychologist visits from 20 to 10.
ALP Health Minister Mark Butler said that Mental Health patients would only be able to claim Medicare rebates for 10 visits to a psychologist from next year, down from the 20 that people have been able to access since the middle of 2020.
The ALP mental health evaluation found that all of the additional services went to existing patients. Those who had already used the initial 10, and had become eligible for the second group of 10 sessions.
The new patients had presumably not yet become eligible for the second group of 10 sessions.
The Australian Psychological Society (APS) stated that these extra sessions should be “a permanent feature of the Better Access program.”
Coalition Health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said: “it is staggering that the Albanese Government believes now is the right time to rip away vital mental health support”