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Health Minister unveils $300 aged care incentive
Details are still lacking, but the payment will be available per patient, per year, while there will also be a $130 bonus for practices.
Almost 370,000 patients and more than 5000 practices have registered to MyMedicare since it was launched last month.
GPs treating aged care patients will soon be able to access an additional source of funding as part of the new MyMedicare rollout.
This week, Federal Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler shed a light on the second stage of the scheme’s funding packages, this time focusing on aged care.
From mid-next year, practices registered for MyMedicare will be paid incentives to provide their registered patients in aged care with regular visits and care planning.
That incentive will see $300 per patient, per year paid quarterly to GPs directly, and $130 per patient, per year to be paid quarterly to the practice.
‘Rural loadings will apply, with payments increasing in line with the remoteness of the community,’ Minister Butler said.
‘Importantly, these funding packages sit on top of the existing fee-for-service – they don’t replace it. All existing Medicare rebates will continue to be paid as well.’
The announcement comes after the first funding package was revealed earlier this year, seeing capitation payments for patients who have more than 10 hospital admissions over 12 months, expected to target around 13,000 patients.
Since MyMedicare registration opened less than two months ago on 1 October, almost 370,000 patients have registered and more than 5000 practices.
But the scheme has been contentious among GPs since it was launched, with confusion rife among healthcare professionals questioning exactly how it will work.
The program was the centre point of the Government’s May Budget, and Minister Butler said the funding package was developed and worked through with stakeholders before its announcement.
‘MyMedicare will help Medicare go beyond the limitations of fee-for-service, with a range of blended funding packages to help practices tailor care to patients from priority groups,’ he said.
‘The benefits of this system-wide reform will grow over time, as more patients and more providers join.’
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