GLADSTONE PRACTICE
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Increased Fees
For patients of Dr Danielle Florida, Dr Lisa Juckes and Dr Gaurav Tandon
WHY?
The Government has not been Indexing Medicare Schedule fees adequately for many years. The reality is that Medicare rebates do not cover the cost of providing you with a safe and high-quality service. The fees charged by this practice have to cover all of our practice costs, including employing receptionists and meeting our operating expenses such as rent, medical equipment, electricity, computers, and insurance. It is not possible for this practice to meet our running costs each year without increasing our fees.
For many years’ Dr Lisa Juckes, Dr Gaurav Tandon, and Dr Danielle Florida have been charging significantly below the Australian Medical Association recommended fee. In 2021 we are planning to align our fees with the AMA rate. We will do this in two stages, which will hopefully allow most of our patients to reach the Safety Net before the second increase.
NEW SCHEDULE
INITIAL CONSULT FEES
DEPOSIT
A $300 Deposit required at the time of booking an initial consult. This will be deducted from your consult fee when you attend. Non-refundable if you fail to attend.
CANCELLATION FEES
Missed appointments are billed 50% of the fee for the first missed appointment. Subsequent appointments need to be prepaid.
SAFETY NET
For individuals and families registered for the Safety Net, once you have paid $2,184.30 in “out-of-pocket” expenses in a calendar year, Medicare will refund 80% of your out-of- pocket expenses (essentially once you have seen your psychiatrist for approximately 12 sessions in a calendar year, most of the cost of a session will be refunded from Medicare) The Extended Medicare Safety Net-Concessional and Family Tax Benefit Part A- is $692.20.
CONCERNS
If you have extenuating circumstances, please discuss these with your treating medical practitioner. If you wish to let the Government know that the Medicare rebate is insufficient to assist you in meeting the cost of your medical care, please contact your local Member of Parliament at http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Members and/or the Minister of Health.