News
July MBS changes revealed
MBS indexation and the removal of COVID telehealth rebates and exemptions headline this year’s updates.
Come 1 July, MBS changes to telehealth items and indexation updates will come into effect.
With the start of the new financial year signifying changes to the MBS, newsGP provides a summary of the key updates impacting general practice from 1 July.
Indexation of MBS items
From 1 July, an indexation factor of 3.5% will be applied to most general medical services items, most diagnostic imaging services and most pathology items in Group P12.
The impact on GP standard consultation items is outlined below:
- MBS item 3, Level A consultation: $18.95 > $19.60
- MBS item 23, Level B consultation: $41.40 > $42.85
- MBS item 36, Level C consultation: $80.10 > $82.90
- MBS item 44, Level D consultation: $118.00 > $122.15
- MBS item 123, Level E consultation: $191.20 > $197.90
With healthcare inflation for the 12 months up to April
reaching 6.1%, the low indexation means patient rebates
continue to slide relative to the cost of care.
Telehealth items
The Department of Health and Aged Care (DoHAC) is planning to remove level C phone rebates for antiviral consultations (93716), as well as the COVID 12-month relationship exemption.
The
RACGP has raised concerns about these changes, and is calling on the Federal Government to reconsider the decision because of the expected impact on GPs and patients.
‘These items must remain in place for the foreseeable future, given the ongoing spread of COVID-19 in the community and the clinical guidelines associated with timely treatments,’ President Dr Nicole Higgins
told newsGP.
‘It remains inappropriate for patients with COVID-19 to be forced to attend a practice just to be eligible to receive Medicare rebates … and places other patients and practice staff at unacceptable risk.’
MBS item 93716 has been billed
more than 300,000 times since it was introduced in July 2022.
The DoHAC has confirmed it will remove exemptions to the established clinical relationship requirement for the following services and categories:
- non-directive pregnancy counselling telehealth consultations (MBS items 92136 and 92138)
- people with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis (via PCR test or RAT) in the last seven days
- people seeking a request to a private pathologist for PCR testing in relation to COVID-19.
Exemptions will remain for people isolating because of a COVID-related state or territory public health order, or in COVID-19 quarantine because of a state or territory public health order.
Telehealth pregnancy support items can still be billed, but the patient will need to have had at least one face-to-face attendance at the practice or with the provider delivering the service in the past 12 months. The DoHAC has advised that items for blood-borne viruses and sexual or reproductive health service telehealth consultations can be used instead of non-directive pregnancy counselling items where clinically relevant.
GP mental health telehealth items will continue with a permanent exemption to the established clinical relationship criteria.
In addition, blood-borne viruses and sexual or reproductive health service telehealth consultation items which are currently temporary will be made permanent. These items will continue to be exempt from the established clinical relationship requirements.
More information on the 1 July changes to the MBS is available on the RACGP website and MBS Online. The RACGP’s MBS online tool will also be updated on 1 July to provide a full list of indexed MBS item benefits.
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