Do I Need a Referral to See a Speech and Language Pathologist?
The great news is that you do not need a referral to a speech and language pathologist. If you have any concerns about your child’s communication development; the sounds they’re able to create, the language they use or understand, the way they socialise, you’re welcome to call your local speech pathologist at Speak and Write to have a chat.
Once you have seen a speech pathologist for an initial assessment, you might hear that your child needs regular speech therapy sessions. This could be an ideal time to see your doctor, in order to access medicare rebates for speech pathology services. Private health funds also typically cover some speech therapy sessions.
Medicare rebates
Medicare provides rebates for speech pathology services under the Chronic Disease Management (CDM) plan, previously known as Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) plan, for individuals with chronic conditions. Eligible individuals can receive rebates for up to five speech pathology sessions per calendar year. To access these rebates, a GP must first develop a CDM plan, and the speech pathologist must be a Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist.
Things to keep in mind to access medicare rebates:
- an eligible allied health practitioner must deliver the service
- the allied health practitioner must bill the services using the correct MBS item number
- the patient must be eligible
- a medical practitioner must refer the patient
- the allied health practitioner must give reports to the referring medical practitioner.
While Medicare or private health insurance can be a helping hand, in most cases you will need regular ongoing speech therapy that lasts longer than the 5 sessions covered by Medicare. We can’t give an exact estimate of the duration of therapy services, however please be aware that it’s likely that Medicare or private health insurance will help to fund the start of your therapy journey, but not its entirety.
https://www.speakandwrite.com.au/fees-charges#funding-and-rebates
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