What is a Mental Health Care Plan?
If you’ve called our spectacular admin team looking to book an appointment with our psychologist, you may have been asked whether you have a Mental Health Care Plan.
Mental Health Care Plans, often shortened to MHCP, is a document referral provided by General Practitioners (GP) to people with a mental health condition.
How does it work?
How do you get one?
We’ll answer all of those questions and more… Just keep on reading!
MHCP: The Basics of a Mental Health Care Plan
A MHCP is provided by your doctor during your consultation with them. It will detail the type of mental health care you need as well as some important information about you.
It is part of the government’s Medicare Better Access initiative to help people accesses needed psychology services in a more affordable way.
How does it work?
With a MHCP from your GP, you’ll be able to claim up to 20 sessions’ worth of rebates from Medicare with a registered psychology provider, such as One Central Health. (This used to be just 10 sessions.)
Unless the psychologist of your choosing bulk bills, all you will need to pay is the gap amount. With psychologists who bulk bill, there will be no out-of-pocket expense. It’s important you double check with your chosen provider whether or not they bulk bill for psychology services.
In most cases, the Mental Health Care Plan is initially for 6 appointments with additional ones pending a review. During this review, your GP will assess how much progress you’ve made and will determine whether you require more subsidised appointments or not.
Who is eligible for a MHCP?
Mental health and mental health support can include a wide variety of different things and conditions. Your GP, as part of your mental health consultation with them, will determine what sort of health issues you are experiencing and provide you with the MHCP accordingly.
Some of the mental health issues that a GP may provide a Plan for include depression and anxiety, phobias, panic and stress disorders, alcohol and drug addiction, and more.
MHCPs are available for patients/clients of all ages, from children to seniors and everyone in between.
MHCP: How to get one?
Mental Health Care Plans can only be provided by a doctor.
Therefore you will need to make an appointment with your GP. Remember to let the reception team know you’re coming for a mental health assessment so that they can book you in for a long enough appointment.
Your GP will conduct the appointment and provide you with the MHCP if they deem it necessary. Make sure to provide your doctor with all the information, as accurately as possible, so that they can understand what you are going through and whether a mental health plan is the right way forward.
You will need to bring both your Medicare Card and likely another form of identification. We recommend contacting your medical clinic ahead of time to make sure you have everything they will need.
Your GP will then likely provide you with a referral for you to either contact your chosen psychologist or they can recommend you to one of their choosing.
What is a GP referral?
The Medicare Benefits Schedule, which outlines everything and anything to do with MHCPs, allows the referral to be a form or note signed by the referring practitioner (i.e., your doctor) to the allied health professional (such as One Central Health).
When we receive referrals from a GP, we then contact the client (with permission) and book them in for an initial consultation with one of our experienced and professional psychologists.
The referral will need to contain certain information in order for a psychologist to be able to provide services that are eligible for a Medicare rebate.
These include:
- Your name
- Your date of birth
- Your adress
- The date of the referral
- Details regarding the services required and number of sessions.
- The provider number of the doctor
- The doctor’s signature
- Other relevant information about mental health plans, assessments etc.
Is the GP referral the same as the Mental Health Care Plan?
No: The GP referral is a letter or form from your doctor to our psychologists explaining why they are referring you. It will also likely have important information and details, such as their provider number. This information is all necessary for anyone seeking Medicare rebates through a MHCP.
The Mental Health Care Plan itself is filled by your doctor and has sections about your medical requirements, history, Medicare info and the dates for review of the plan.
Both the referral and the MHCP must be dated and signed by your doctor.
Does my GP choose my psychologist?
No, but they can if you ask them to. It is likely that your doctor will recommend a psychologist or psychology practice, and will address the referral to them.
You can, however, choose to take that referral to a different psychologist of your choosing.
What does a MHCP cost?
Getting a MHCP does not cost you anything if you are eligible for Medicare. Of course, the medical clinic at which you are seeing your GP will likely have a fee for the appointment (which itself is subject to a Medicare rebate or is free if they 100% bulk bill).
Remember as well that the psychologist providing you with the mental health care services will also likely charge a fee. While some psychologists bulk bill, meaning with a MHCP the sessions are free, most will charge a fee and process your rebate through your Mental Health Care Plan.
If you’d like to know the costs of our psychology services, with and without a rebate, call our team today on 08 9344 1318.
Provisional Psychologists and Mental Health Care Plans
One thing to note is that you cannot use a MHCP and receive a rebate if your psychology session is with a provisional psychologist. (If you’re not sure what the difference is between a fully registered and provisionally registered psychologist, click here.)
At One Central Health, we offset this by offering sessions with our provisional psychologists at the rate of a fully registered psychologist minus the rebate you otherwise would have received. This way, our clients with a MHCP all pay the same amount.
This rule is currently under review and debate. But as of the writing of this blog is still in force.
Reviewing your Mental Health Care Plan
Under the current structure, MHCPs provide up to 20 sessions, depending on your GP’s plan.
The first six sessions take place initially and then your psychologist will provide a review report to your GP who will refer you for more sessions as part of your ongoing plan if they deem it necessary.
MHCP Expiry Dates
MHCPs do not expire and re-set each calendar year, meaning the 1st of January. A GP referral, however, may expire after 1 year. We recommend speaking to your doctor or psychology provider if you have concerns regarding expiration dates.
New Mental Health Care Plans
If your circumstances change or your needs change, your psychologist and doctor will review your MHCP to ensure you are receiving as much as support as possible.
General review dates are 3 or 6 months after the first psychology session with new plans being prepared after 12 months.
Checking Your Remaining Sessions
You can keep track of how many sessions you have remaining on your Mental Health Care Plan, by logging in to your MyGov account. Click on the Medicare option, then select History and Statements, followed by Medicare Claims History.
This will show you how many sessions you have already used and allow you to calculate how many remain.
Emergency Mental Health Services
If you need urgent or emergency mental health assistance or support, please call the appropriate service provider below:
- For emergencies or if you or someone else is in danger: call 000 or present to your nearest hospital emergency department.
- Lifeline: 13 11 14
- Kids’ Helpline: 1800 55 1800
- Rural Link After-Hours Mental Health Emergency Response Line: 1800 552 002
- Mental Health Emergency Response Line: 1300 555 788
- Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
- Crisis Care – 1800 199 008
- Beyond Blue – 1300 224 636
Book Your Psychology Appointment with One Central Health
If you’d like to find out more about Mental Health Care Plans, the psychology services available at One Central Health or to book in your next appointment, contact our team today.
