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The government released the 2023–24 federal budget on 9 May, and as expected it gave us some insights and clues about how Medicare reform will roll out, but there weren’t any big surprises and we look forward to working with decision-makers on the details and as things continue to progress.
Please note that for the purposes of Medicare, CDEs are recognised as allied health, so even though CDEs have a variety of professional backgrounds, including non-allied health professions, diabetes education, and CDEs are considered allied health for Medicare purposes.
MyMedicare is one of the things coming out of the Medicare Taskforce Review. MyMedicare is a new and voluntary scheme designed to create a stronger relationship between individuals and their primary care teams. Implementing MyMedicare is expected to cost $19.7 million over 4 years. MyMedicare provides $98.9 million in new funding packages for general practices to provide comprehensive care to patients who are frequent hospital users and another $112 million for Australians in residential aged care. It is expected that this will be particularly useful for people who are frequently admitted to the hospital, and those with complex chronic conditions. MyMedicare will provide more comprehensive information about patients while giving patients and their care team access to additional funding packages, tailored to their health needs.
We will provide additional information as it becomes available, as the details are still unknown. We will continue to advocate that people living with diabetes must be referred to CDEs and the diabetes care team as part of this initiative.
$79.4 million over four years to 2026–27 and ongoing to strengthen the role Primary Health Networks (PHNs) play in commissioning multidisciplinary health care teams to improve the management of chronic conditions and reduce avoidable hospitalisations. This should improve access to affordable multidisciplinary health care (including CDEs, other allied health professionals, nurses, nurse practitioners, and midwives), working together to deliver better patient outcomes in line with the recommendations of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.
$17.1 million over four years is included to enhance PHNs’ role in general practice support to private allied health, nursing, nurse practitioner, and midwifery practices. Part of this package is $235,000 in 2023–24 to develop an allied health practice support toolkit and ongoing funding to deliver practice support to allied health (including non-dispensing pharmacists), nursing, and midwifery practices.
We will be working closely with Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA), the peak body for allied health professionals, on how this will be rolled out and ensure that CDEs and diabetes education are at the centre of these conversations.
The anticipated Scope of Practice review has $3 million in 2023–24 and 2024–25 to undertake a review that examines current models of care against community needs. The review will also recommend appropriate expansion to scopes of practice and models of care for a range of health professionals providing primary care services. We have long advocated, and will continue to, that all CDEs are working to their full scope of practice, and we look forward to this process.
From 1 November 2024, the GP Chronic Disease Management (CDM) planning and review items will be restructured. The current GP planning items – the GP Management Plan (GPMP) and Team Care Arrangement (TCA) – will be consolidated into a new CDM planning item. The same benefit will be paid to create a CDM plan as well as to review a CDM plan. Patients enrolled in MyMedicare will need to access CDM items through the practice they are enrolled with; patients not enrolled will continue to be able to access the services through their usual GP, consistent with the current arrangements. To access allied health services, a patient’s plan will have to have been created or reviewed within the last 18 months, and patients will need a CDM plan to access a Domiciliary Medication Management Review. Please note that there will be transition arrangements from 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2026 to allow patients to transition to the new CDM plans. Patients will be able to continue to access allied health services using their existing GPMPs and TCAs during the transition period.
The government also announced a refresh of the National Strategic Framework for Chronic Conditions and will be seeking consultation on how to best go about that. We look forward to responding and providing feedback from our members to government.
$16.7 million over three years from 2023–24 will be invested to finalise the development of a new Aged Care Act and related consultation processes. It will include drafting provisions relating to how older people will access subsidised allied health services under the new Act and how the delivery of such services by aged care providers will be regulated.
The Single Assessment Workforce will be mobilised from 1 July 2024 to simplify and improve access to services for older people. The new Support at Home program will be implemented from 1 July 2025 to allow an extra 12 months for the government to refine the program with input from experts across a range of design elements and further consultation with older people and in-home aged care providers. The Department of Health and Aged Care has committed to consult with allied health professionals in areas such as the establishment of a new Assistive Technology and Home Modifications scheme and arrangements for short-term restorative care under the reforms. ADEA is a member of Allied Health Professionals Australia and sits on their Aged Care Working group, and we look forward to participating in these consultations.
Access will be streamlined to the 10 allied health services for First Nations Australians with a chronic condition, or following a Health Assessment, through MBS items 10950–10970, 93000, 93013, 81300–81360, 93048, and 93061. This measure was due to be implemented on 1 March 2023, however, due to implementation challenges and the need for additional stakeholder consultation, it will now be implemented on 1 March 2024.
There was also $951.2 million announced for digital health. The Australian Digital Health Agency will upgrade and modernise My Health Record, making it easier for patients and providers to use and support the secure, safe, and efficient sharing of information. This will improve health outcomes for patients and reduce duplication in the system. $6.1 million of this will support allied health professionals to develop connections to My Health Record. This will be alongside a comprehensive marketing and education campaign to promote My Health Record use amongst allied health professionals. This funding will be complemented by additional investment to modernise My Health Record.
Workforce Incentive Program
More than $400 million over four years from 2023–24 will be invested to improve the quality and accessibility of multidisciplinary primary care and improve the financial sustainability of multidisciplinary general practice by immediately increasing all payments under the Workforce Incentive Program – Practice Stream (WIP-PS). This measure is expected to also build more accountability, coaching, and change management around WIP-PS payments to facilitate the clinical transition to new models of care that are more responsive to community needs.
We will continue to analyse the budget over the coming weeks and follow up with stakeholders and decision-makers as we continue to advocate for CDEs and diabetes education.
The government released the 2023–24 federal budget on 9 May, and as expected it gave us some insights and clues about how Medicare reform will roll out, but there weren’t any big surprises and we look forward to working with decision-makers on the details and as things continue to progress.
Please note that for the purposes of Medicare, CDEs are recognised as allied health, so even though CDEs have a variety of professional backgrounds, including non-allied health professions, diabetes education, and CDEs are considered allied health for Medicare purposes.
MyMedicare is one of the things coming out of the Medicare Taskforce Review. MyMedicare is a new and voluntary scheme designed to create a stronger relationship between individuals and their primary care teams. Implementing MyMedicare is expected to cost $19.7 million over 4 years. MyMedicare provides $98.9 million in new funding packages for general practices to provide comprehensive care to patients who are frequent hospital users and another $112 million for Australians in residential aged care. It is expected that this will be particularly useful for people who are frequently admitted to the hospital, and those with complex chronic conditions. MyMedicare will provide more comprehensive information about patients while giving patients and their care team access to additional funding packages, tailored to their health needs.
We will provide additional information as it becomes available, as the details are still unknown. We will continue to advocate that people living with diabetes must be referred to CDEs and the diabetes care team as part of this initiative.
$79.4 million over four years to 2026–27 and ongoing to strengthen the role Primary Health Networks (PHNs) play in commissioning multidisciplinary health care teams to improve the management of chronic conditions and reduce avoidable hospitalisations. This should improve access to affordable multidisciplinary health care (including CDEs, other allied health professionals, nurses, nurse practitioners, and midwives), working together to deliver better patient outcomes in line with the recommendations of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.
$17.1 million over four years is included to enhance PHNs’ role in general practice support to private allied health, nursing, nurse practitioner, and midwifery practices. Part of this package is $235,000 in 2023–24 to develop an allied health practice support toolkit and ongoing funding to deliver practice support to allied health (including non-dispensing pharmacists), nursing, and midwifery practices.
We will be working closely with Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA), the peak body for allied health professionals, on how this will be rolled out and ensure that CDEs and diabetes education are at the centre of these conversations.
The anticipated Scope of Practice review has $3 million in 2023–24 and 2024–25 to undertake a review that examines current models of care against community needs. The review will also recommend appropriate expansion to scopes of practice and models of care for a range of health professionals providing primary care services. We have long advocated, and will continue to, that all CDEs are working to their full scope of practice, and we look forward to this process.
From 1 November 2024, the GP Chronic Disease Management (CDM) planning and review items will be restructured. The current GP planning items – the GP Management Plan (GPMP) and Team Care Arrangement (TCA) – will be consolidated into a new CDM planning item. The same benefit will be paid to create a CDM plan as well as to review a CDM plan. Patients enrolled in MyMedicare will need to access CDM items through the practice they are enrolled with; patients not enrolled will continue to be able to access the services through their usual GP, consistent with the current arrangements. To access allied health services, a patient’s plan will have to have been created or reviewed within the last 18 months, and patients will need a CDM plan to access a Domiciliary Medication Management Review. Please note that there will be transition arrangements from 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2026 to allow patients to transition to the new CDM plans. Patients will be able to continue to access allied health services using their existing GPMPs and TCAs during the transition period.
The government also announced a refresh of the National Strategic Framework for Chronic Conditions and will be seeking consultation on how to best go about that. We look forward to responding and providing feedback from our members to government.
$16.7 million over three years from 2023–24 will be invested to finalise the development of a new Aged Care Act and related consultation processes. It will include drafting provisions relating to how older people will access subsidised allied health services under the new Act and how the delivery of such services by aged care providers will be regulated.
The Single Assessment Workforce will be mobilised from 1 July 2024 to simplify and improve access to services for older people. The new Support at Home program will be implemented from 1 July 2025 to allow an extra 12 months for the government to refine the program with input from experts across a range of design elements and further consultation with older people and in-home aged care providers. The Department of Health and Aged Care has committed to consult with allied health professionals in areas such as the establishment of a new Assistive Technology and Home Modifications scheme and arrangements for short-term restorative care under the reforms. ADEA is a member of Allied Health Professionals Australia and sits on their Aged Care Working group, and we look forward to participating in these consultations.
Access will be streamlined to the 10 allied health services for First Nations Australians with a chronic condition, or following a Health Assessment, through MBS items 10950–10970, 93000, 93013, 81300–81360, 93048, and 93061. This measure was due to be implemented on 1 March 2023, however, due to implementation challenges and the need for additional stakeholder consultation, it will now be implemented on 1 March 2024.
There was also $951.2 million announced for digital health. The Australian Digital Health Agency will upgrade and modernise My Health Record, making it easier for patients and providers to use and support the secure, safe, and efficient sharing of information. This will improve health outcomes for patients and reduce duplication in the system. $6.1 million of this will support allied health professionals to develop connections to My Health Record. This will be alongside a comprehensive marketing and education campaign to promote My Health Record use amongst allied health professionals. This funding will be complemented by additional investment to modernise My Health Record.
Workforce Incentive Program
More than $400 million over four years from 2023–24 will be invested to improve the quality and accessibility of multidisciplinary primary care and improve the financial sustainability of multidisciplinary general practice by immediately increasing all payments under the Workforce Incentive Program – Practice Stream (WIP-PS). This measure is expected to also build more accountability, coaching, and change management around WIP-PS payments to facilitate the clinical transition to new models of care that are more responsive to community needs.
We will continue to analyse the budget over the coming weeks and follow up with stakeholders and decision-makers as we continue to advocate for CDEs and diabetes education.
