A nationwide July member poll by peak body for psychology the Australian Psychological Society (APS) reveals that psychologists think urgent Government action is needed to improve access to affordable psychology services.
APS President Dr Catriona Davis-McCabe warned that inaction will worsen mental health outcomes with potentially severe consequences.
"This data confirms feedback from members and the community for some time. Patient demand remains high, but people increasingly cannot afford treatment due to cost of living pressures and slow progress in mental health system reform."
"More people with untreated mental ill-health places greater demand on GPs, first responders and emergency departments, costing taxpayers more.
"It is such a false economy."
Currently, Australians can have 10 subsidised psychology sessions under Medicare per year. This number was halved from 20 by the Federal Government at the end of 2022. The average gap payment is $100 per session. An effective treatment dose is at least 16 to 20 sessions for complex cases and often more.
With 753 responses, the member poll examined perceived barriers to access, current waitlists and unbillable hours worked each week. 44% of members said cost was the main barrier to access for patients, a sentiment shared by 75% of Australians who listed cost as a top three barrier to care in the APS' National Mental Health Survey. Unsurprisingly, the same survey found 95% of Australians want more public funding for psychology services.
On a positive note, 55% of members reported improved waitlists. However, 30% saw no change and 15% had worse waitlists compared to 12 months ago.
"We are concerned though that the improvement in waitlists may be due to patients choosing not to undertake much needed treatment due to cost of living pressures" said Dr Davis-McCabe.
This is supported by Australian Bureau of Statistics which report a 40% increase in the number of most socio-economically disadvantaged Australians citing cost as the reason for delaying or avoiding psychology services in 2022-23.
"People who can't afford services are giving up, and those who can afford it often face long waitlists. And this is despite Department of Health and Aged Care data that shows that about one in four psychology sessions are being bulk billed."
The member poll also found 64% of psychologists are working between 5 and 20 unbillable hours each week.
"Psychologists are juggling rising practice and living costs themselves, while effectively working several hours a week for free. This needs to be addressed by Government, including by reducing the unnecessary administrative burden on psychologists through appropriate MBS reform which the APS has been calling for over many years," said Dr Davis-McCabe.
In addition to increasing the rebate for patients of psychologists, the Federal Government should:
-
Provide Australians with the psychology services they need, by substantially increasing Medicare-subsidised sessions, and particularly for people at-risk of or experiencing complex mental health issues.
-
Remove out-of-pocket expenses for 14 to 25-year-old Australians through a new Medicare Safety Net threshold of $0 applying to these services, and
-
Scale up investment in more psychology postgraduate university places.
