At a time when the cost of living crisis is both making mental health worse and causing an increasing number of people across Australia to delay or miss out on essential mental health care, the Greens have announced a fully costed plan to provide unlimited mental health in Medicare as part of a plan for free mental healthcare.
The plan, one of the party's 'Robin Hood' reforms, will be paid for by taxing big corporations that are profiting off price gouging during a cost of living crisis. It will provide significant cost of living relief and enable all Australians to get the mental healthcare they need, with recent ABS data showing that 43% of people will experience mental health issues in their life and 24% of people who needed to see a psychologist delayed or didn't do so because of the cost.
The Greens' plan to get mental health into Medicare follows the Greens' commitment to build 6 Free Local Healthcare Clinics in each electorate, where publicly-employed psychologists, GPs and nurses would be available to provide healthcare for free, as well as a costed plan to get dental into Medicare.
With a minority Parliament looming, the Greens say that free healthcare will be a key policy for the Party this election and will be on the table and pushed in any minority Parliament negotiations after the next election.
THE GREENS' PLAN FOR FREE AND UNLIMITED MENTAL HEALTHCARE INCLUDES:
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UNLIMITED MENTAL HEALTH SESSIONS ON MEDICARE: Currently, Australians can access a maximum of just 10 subsidised mental health sessions through the Better Access Scheme (this number was halved from 20 by the Albanese Government in late 2022, resulting in the number of subsidised psychologist visits plummeting, by almost a quarter of a million sessions). The Greens will remove the cap, so you can access unlimited clinically relevant appointments.
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FREE PSYCHOLOGIST SESSIONS at 1000 free Local Healthcare Clinics across Australia.
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INCREASED MEDICARE REBATE: The Greens will ensure you get a Medicare rebate of at least $150 for each session with a clinical or registered psychologist.
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SUPPORT THE WORKFORCE: The Greens will enable Provisional Psychologists to access Medicare subsidised sessions, and are committed to investing in lived experience by increasing the number of peer workers by 1000 workers, including First Nations peer workers. This will give people who need mental health care but don't need to see a psychologist more options.
Sarah Hanson-Young is Greens Senator for South Australia:
"Too many people in South Australia are not able to access mental healthcare simply because it's too expensive. Mental health should be part of Medicare and the Greens have a plan to fix it.
"The Greens plan will see people being able to get mental healthcare when they need it.
"Under Labor, the number of Better Access Scheme sessions has been cut from 20, to 10. This is leaving too many people unable to get Medicare-subsided Mental Healthcare. The Greens want to ensure that if you need more sessions with your psychologist, you'll be able to get them.
"Our plan to get Mental Healthcare into Medicare sits alongside our plan to get Dental into Medicare and to get back to the GP for Free; these will bring us closer to a universal healthcare system.
"We'll also increase the rebate and expand the range of providers able to offer Medicare sessions to include provisional psychologists.
"Under Labor, the number of Better Access Scheme sessions has been cut from 20, to 10. This is leaving too many people unable to get Medicare-subsided Mental Healthcare. The Greens want to ensure that if you need more sessions with your psychologist, you'll be able to get them.
"This plan to expand the Better Access Scheme sits alongside our plan to open 1000 local healthcare centres across the country where people will be able to see a psychologist for free.
"We can't keep voting for the same two parties and expecting a different result. If you want free and unlimited mental healthcare, the first step is to vote for someone who'll fight for you."
