The deferral follows our lobbying for a longer consultation period for these significant reforms.
The Department of Health and Aged Care this week announced changes to MBS chronic disease management items, which were due to come into effect in November, have now been deferred until 1 July 2025 to allow for extra consultation.
We welcomed the decision to allow more time for consultation, which follows lobbying from the AMA and other groups.
The government's decision to pursue a restructure of MBS chronic disease management items was based on a key recommendation arising from the MBS Review.
We recognise there has been some very positive work happening to achieve real simplification of these items, align them better with clinical practice, reduce red tape and reward longitudinal care.
However, in the last month it became obvious that more time was needed to settle the detail as well finalise an appropriate rebate structure.
The government has listened to our concerns and agreed to consult further. This is a valuable reform and we support the direction being taken, but more time is needed to ensure the government gets the details right.
