The new Better Start Medicare items became available on 1 July 2011.
Information about the new items can be found at the following web link: MBS Primary Care Items: Better Start for Children with Disability initiative.
Please note: children with an eligible diagnosis do not have to be registered (for the Better Start early intervention funding) in order to access the Medicare items. Access to the Medicare items is through the child’s doctor, who will be responsible for developing the treatment and management plan and making referrals to allied health specialists for clinically relevant services.
Children with an eligible diagnosis can access the Medicare items at any time up to the age of 15, provided the new treatment and management plan is in place before the child turns 13. The Medicare items can be accessed:
- before child is registered for the early intervention funding, or
- in conjunction with the early intervention funding, or
- after a child’s access to the early intervention funding ceases.
Medicare items have been introduced for:
- specialists, consultant physicians and general practitioners for the assessment, diagnosis and development of a treatment and management plan for a child under 13 years of age
- psychologists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, audiologists, physiotherapists, optometrists and orthoptists to provide up to four services per child, on referral from a specialist, consultant physician or general practitioner, to assist the referring practitioner in the assessment, diagnosis and development of a treatment and management plan for a child under 13 years of age
- psychologists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, audiologists, physiotherapists, optometrists and orthoptists to provide up to 20 early intervention treatment services per child, consistent with the treatment and management plan prepared by the referring practitioner.
The new treatment items are available for children up to the age of 15 provided the relevant treatment and management plan is in place before 13 years of age.
Parents and carers of eligible children are not required to complete a formal application to access the Medicare component of the initiative, but will need to be referred by their general practitioner or a physician.
The Medicare component of the Better Start initiative is administered by the Department of Health and Ageing. Further information about the Medicare component of Better Start is available on the following websites:
www.mbsonline.gov.au and the Department of Health and Ageing website