Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy are allied health services that support children (and adults!) with ongoing communication, social, emotional and motor difficulties and delays.
There are ways that you are able to access Medicare rebates and funding to support access to therapy.
We have summarised the information below to explain the Medicare rebate process to help you access the help you need.
Can I get a Medicare rebate for Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy?
The short answer is, YES.
However, there are a few conditions.
A Medicare rebate is available for speech and occupational therapy, which can be accessed under the EPC program (Enhanced Primary Care Program).
There are a couple of criteria that you must meet to be able to access this rebate:
‘Chronic Condition’ - meaning something that your child has suffered with for more than 3 months.
You need to have the appropriate referral form from your GP, who needs to send you to a specific speech or occupational therapy clinic (we would love to be able to help!)
How many visits will the Medicare EPC Rebate cover?
The Medicare EPC Program allows for a total of up to 5 rebated consults to any referred allied health practitioner per calendar year. This could include speech therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and more.
You may receive 3 speech pathology consults and 2 occupational therapy consults.
The number of consults will be renewed each year, however you will need to get a new referral form.
How much does the Medicare rebate cover?
The current Medicare rebate (as of August 2022) is $56.00 per consult, regardless of the specific service you choose. That means that you can get a $56.00 rebate for your first and subsequent sessions after that.
How does the Medicare EPC Rebate process work?
We will talk about how the Medicare EPC program works at Bambini Health.
We ask that you send through your referral form so that we can set it up on our system.
After your therapy session, you will pay the full consult fee.
We then process the Medicare rebate and require your DEBIT card to be swiped so that we can put the rebate into your account
Note - you cannot use CREDIT card for this process
To summarise:
You can get a Medicare rebate for speech and occupational therapy using the EPC Program
You need a specific doctor’s referral and a 'chronic' condition
You can get access to $56 rebate for up to 5 visits (speech OR occupational therapy) per year
There will always be a small gap fee
We will process the rebate to go back into your account
If you have any questions about the EPC program, please feel free to contact us via phone or email and we are happy to help.
Otherwise, you can speak to your GP and ask for a referral to see a therapist to help your child and family begin working towards your goals.
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