Medicare rebates may apply to appointments at HMC, subject to specific eligibility requirements.

Who can use this funding source at HMC?

You may be able to access Medicare rebates for your appointments at HMC if any of the following circumstances apply:

• you have a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) and valid referral from your GP, psychiatrist, or paediatrician.

• you have an Eating Disorder Plan (EDP) from your GP, psychiatrist, or paediatrician.

• you have a Chronic Disease and Management Plan (CDM) and valid referral from your GP.

You will not be eligible for a Medicare rebate if your clinician is a:

• Provisional Psychologist

• AASW Accredited Social Worker

• Counsellor/Psychotherapist

• Play Therapist

• Therapy Assistant

In the interest of equity, fees for the clinicians listed above are priced similarly to the out-of-pocket cost of an appointment with a Medicare eligible clinician at HMC.

What else do I need to know?

Your GP will need you to book a "long consultation" to prepare a MHTP, EDP, or CDM, and accompanying referral letter to Healthy Mind Centre Launceston.

After you have attended the maximum number of appointments on your current referral, you will need to return to your GP, paediatrician, or psychiatrist to request a re-referral to Healthy Mind Centre Launceston.

The Medicare rebates (from November 2023) are:

• $82.30 Accredited Mental Health Social Worker

• $93.35 Registered Psychologist

• $137.05 Clinical Psychologist

You may be interested to know that once you have spent more than your Medicare Safety Net threshold for the calendar year, your Medicare rebate will increase. To find out more about the Medicare Safety Net and how to register, click HERE.

Depending on your funding allocation and plan goals, you may be able to claim the cost of your appointments through your NDIS plan. You can discuss this with admin prior to booking an initial appointment.

Who can use this funding source at HMC?

You may be able to use NDIS funding to pay for your appointments at HMC if all of the following circumstances apply:

• your NDIS plan contains funding for Improved Daily Living in the Capacity Building budget.

• your goals align with the proposed supports.

You will not be able to use your NDIS funding at HMC if:

• you are an Early Intervention participant with agency-managed funding.

Who can use this funding source at HMC?

You may be able to access private health rebates for your appointments at HMC if all of the following circumstances apply:

• your private health insurance policy covers appointments with your clinician

• you do not intend to claim a Medicare rebate for your appointments

You will not be eligible for a private health rebate if your clinician is a:

• Provisional Psychologist

• Play Therapist

• Therapy Assistant

What else do I need to know?

You are responsible for contacting your private health insurer to determine if your policy covers the services you intend to claim. Your insurer may require your clinician’s provider number to determine whether the service will be covered, which you can request from our friendly admin team.

Your private health insurer may require HMC to use specific billing codes relevant to the services provided. You will need to seek out this information and provide it to HMC, if applicable.

HMC can process most private health insurance claims in the clinic.

Who can use this funding source at HMC?

You may be able to use an EAP to pay for your appointments at HMC if any of the following circumstances apply:

• your employer has an EAP provider.

• your employer has an EAP arrangement with HMC.

What else do I need to know?

HMC can provide EAP services through Career Money Life, or a private payer arrangement.

You can contact your employer’s HR department and/or our friendly admin team to discuss this option further.

Your clinician may need to fill out a form for your EAP provider. You can contact our friendly admin team to discuss this further.

If your employer would like to make an EAP arrangement with HMC, they can complete the Organisation Enquiry Form HERE.

Who can use this funding source at HMC?

You may be able to use the Open Arms scheme (for veterans and families) to pay for your appointments at HMC if all of the following circumstances apply:

• you meet eligibility requirements for Open Arms or Bupa Open Arms

• your clinician is eligible to provide services under the Open Arms scheme

What else do I need to know?

Your clinician may need to fill out a form in order to become an Open Arms or Bupa Open Arms provider. You can contact our friendly admin team to discuss this further.

Who can use this funding source at HMC?

You may be able to use worker’s compensation funding to pay for your appointments at HMC if all of the following circumstances apply:

• you have a made a workers’ compensation claim

• you are eligible to access therapy services under your workers’ compensation claim

What else do I need to know?

You will need to provide HMC with the following information:

• your workers’ compensation claim number

• your workers’ compensation case manager name and contact details

There are several ways you can be referred to HMC.

• Self-referral. You can self-refer for therapy services. To self-refer now, click HERE.

• General Practitioner (GP) referral. You can request that your GP makes a referral to Healthy Mind Centre Launceston.

• Psychiatrist or Paediatrician referral. You can request that your Psychiatrist or Paediatrician makes a referral to Healthy Mind Centre Launceston.

• Other referral. Another third party may make a referral on your behalf, such as:

  1. your National Disability Insurance Agency local area coordinator or support coordinator

  2. your worker’s compensation firm

  3. your Employee Assistance Program

  4. your school

  5. your Occupational Therapist, Speech Pathologist, or other allied health professional

To ensure that you seek the referral pathway that suits your needs, you can review the information contained under Funding Sources above.

Once we receive your referral, we will email you a triaging questionnaire to complete. If your email was not provided, we will contact you by phone (call or txt). Usually, you can expect to hear from us within 2-5 business days.

Our aim in this step is to minimise wait times by using the information from your triaging questionnaire. This helps us ensure that we are the most suitable service for you and enables us to match you with an appropriate clinician. We do this by assessing clinician skills, aligning schedules, and considering funding type. Our priority is to match you with a suitable clinician who has the soonest availability. If needed, we can discuss waitlist options or alternatives for timely support.

As a client of HMC, we require you to complete an online intake form containing our key policies. You may also be asked to complete some additional online questionnaires about your current emotional state. These must be completed prior to your initial session.

Our friendly admin team will contact you by phone when an initial appointment becomes available with a suitable clinician. Once this is booked, you will receive information about getting to your appointment including location, parking, and accessibility.

The initial appointment is typically 50 to 90 minutes. During this appointment, you can expect:

• Your clinician will gather information about your history and current concerns.

• Your clinician will work with you to determine what you hope to gain from therapy.

• Your clinician may recommend you seek out additional supports or resources, depending on your concerns and goals.

You can click HERE to read more about what to expect in your first session with a HMC clinician

If you decide to proceed with a course of therapy at HMC, our friendly admin team can support you to book additional appointments. Alternatively, we have an online booking system available for current clients.

We encourage clients to book 3 appointments ahead, to secure preferred appointment times, as clinicians tend to book up quickly.

Your clinician will regularly review therapeutic progress.

When you and your clinician decide that appointments are no longer required, your clinician will write to the referrer with an update. If your circumstances change, you are welcome to seek our help again in future.