News Cuts To Medicare Support For Ptsd Cause Sufferers More Harm

[anthony]

An estimated 800,000 Australians have post-traumatic stress disorder, but the Medicare support needed to treat many is too little to help.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/cuts...cause-sufferers-more-harm-20140309-34ffz.html

You can sign the petition going to the Government at [DLMURL]http://www.change.org/petitions/australia-needs-better-access-to-psychological-treatment[/DLMURL]

 

[rainy_daze]

Well-written article with real life stories.

Is Medicare like the Australian equivalent of the UK National Health Service? Where therapy is "free" (paid for by taxes), and is therefore time-limited?

It's very sad people can't get the help they need to recover properly. It only costs the government more in the long run, if people can't get well enough to work (just one example).

Thank you for posting the article @anthony , makes me feel grateful that I have had more than 10 sessions.

 

[anthony]

Similar... yes. Medicare is simply the Government agency that will refund most of your costs for you. You can go to anyone you want, in other words, but the amount you get back will be a set cost for most things.

 

[rainy_daze]

I like that you could select the T you want, but with such varying degrees in how much a therapist charges for their hourly rate, that must be difficult. I imagine the refund you would receive might not cover the cost of a specialised trauma therapist.

Ugh, :mad::(.

 

[anthony]

Not so much here... as most sessions may cost you maybe $10 - $20 out of pocket... only if you go for some guru expert who charges hundreds per hour... you would otherwise be quite fine here in Australia. Industries pretty much have set charges... it is only experts within industries who exceed those charges... yet are often worth the money if you can afford it due to their expertise.

 

[Nicolette]

Not so much here... as most sessions may cost you maybe $10 - $20 out of pocket

That's if you get a health care plan from your doctor and it's only valid for 10 visits a year (some 20) - then you start to have a larger out of pocket expense until you reach a threshold and then you revert back to a lower out of pocket expense based on a % of a scheduled fee - so you still need to make sure you are seeing someone who doesn't charge over and beyond.