More than 5.6 million Medicare services helping Australians with mental health issues were impacted by Malcolm Turnbull’s six-year freeze in 2016.
Malcolm Turnbull’s freeze on Medicare doesn’t start and end at the GP – it also applies to specialists and allied health services, including mental health assessments and psychiatry.
Department of Human Services statistics show that through Medicare last year, Australians accessed:
- 11,634 group therapy sessions (other than psychiatrist);
- 2,311,810 sessions with consultant psychiatrists;
- 3,290,109 GP mental health treatment services – including the development of mental health plans.
That’s more than 5.6 million services in 2016 alone bearing the brunt of the Government’s health cuts, which continue to have far-reaching impacts on our health system.
The fact that Malcolm Turnbull is making health care less accessible and less affordable for Australians shows just how wrong their priorities are – their freeze is impacting access to vital health services such as specialists, GPs and psychologists for Australians who need health care the most.
It won’t be good enough for the Government to drop part of their freeze – they need to drop all of their freeze in twelve days’ time.
THURSDAY, 27 APRIL 2017