Medicare Rebate
The Chronic Disease Management Plan (formerly called the Enhanced Primary Care Plan) provides Medicare rebates for Allied Health services. You may be eligible to claim a maximum of 5 rebates through Medicare per calendar year for Allied Health services such as speech pathology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy etc. The rebate is $60.35 for each of the 5 sessions. A Chronic Disease Management Plan is for those with chronic medical conditions that are likely to be present for at least 6 months.
Your GP can discuss with you whether your child is eligible for a Chronic Disease Management Plan. If they are eligible the GP will provide you with a referral form for you to bring to your appointment. You will still need to pay for the therapy sessions as usual, but you will be able to take your receipts for up to 5 sessions to Medicare and claim your rebate, or claim through the Medicare app.
Please talk to your GP to find out more about a Chronic Disease Management Plan, or visit the website for the Department of Health and Ageing here.
NDIS
Children with NDIS funding which is either self managed or plan managed are able to access services at SmallTalk.
Private Health Funds
Many private health funds offer cover for private speech pathology, depending on your level of cover and which health fund you are with. You will need to contact your specific health fund provider to find out whether you can claim for speech therapy services.