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ParaQuad News • Issue 1 Autumn 2016
ou may be asking
yourself, ‘what is the
Better Access Scheme?’
It was introduced by
the Federal government under John
Howard seven years ago, and it can
help people access psychological
treatment services under the
Medicare system for the first time
ever (I remember when it was
introduced seven years ago. How
time flies!) It is hard to believe that
before its introduction, these mental
health issues were not covered
under Medicare.
One in five Australians aged
between 16 and 85 will suffer from
some form of common mental health
issue in any year: this equates to
3.2 million Australians (Mental
Health First Aid).
The Scheme was designed
to help people get access to
professional help, for things like
mood and anxiety disorders, to see
a psychologist or a social worker.
All they had to do was get a referral
from their local GP. The Scheme
helps people claim money back
from Medicare or sometimes the
professional can bill the individual
for the session.
A lot of the time, health
professionals such as a psychologist
may charge somewhere between
$130 - $195 per hour. This was
a barrier to many people needing
access to help. Instead, a person
under the Better Access Scheme
might pay $20 - $30 to see an allied
health professional. Some health
professionals bulk bill individuals so
they have no out-of-pocket expense.
The World Health Organisation
(WHO) defines mental health as
“A state of wellbeing in which
the individual realises his or her
own abilities, can cope with the
normal stresses of life, can work
productively and fruitfully and is able
to make a contribution to his or her
community.”
Since the Better Access Scheme
was introduced it is estimated at
least a million people are now seeing
health professionals for the first time.
Improving one’s mental health can
be good for them, their loved ones,
their friends and their productivity
at work.
A Federal government evaluation
of the scheme in 2011 found that
it had significantly increased the
treatment rates of people with
mental health disorders. Before the
Scheme existed, 35% of people
with mental health issues had been
receiving treatment but after its
introduction that figure jumped
to a staggering 46%.
Another point to come out of this
evaluation was that 80% of people
who were accessing allied health
workers (psychologist or social
workers) since the introduction of the
Better Access Scheme reported high
or very high levels of psychological
distress at the time they started
treatment - and had been battling
with something such as a mood,
anxiety or substance abuse disorder
for more than a year (Australian
Psychological Society/APS).
So people who really needed
help were now receiving it and the
study found that after a course of
treatment those people’s symptoms
decreased from being moderate or
severe to normal or mild.
Over time, there have been some
funding cuts to the Scheme and
the availability of accessing up to
18 sessions per calendar year was
scaled back to 10 sessions per
year. To improve outcomes, allied
health professionals are lobbying the
government to increase the sessions
back up to its original level.
A 2011 study by the APS looked
at why people were going to a
psychologist, It captured data on
10,000 people who had used the
Better Access Scheme.
81% of participants had
depression and/or anxiety disorders,
and only a tiny percentage had
the less common mental health
conditions such as schizophrenia
or bipolar (APS).
Importantly, the Better Access
Scheme helped de-stigmatise help-
seeking for mental health disorders
through Medicare funded service
provision. It also enabled effective
treatment of mental health disorders
through access to evidence-based
psychological interventions.
Spotlight onMental
healthspot
By Matthew Smith, ParaQuad NSW Social Worker
Better Access Scheme...What Is It And How Can It Help You?
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