I’ve Got an Enhanced Primary Care Plan (EPC). What Next?

So, you’ve just been to see your doctor about a chronic condition that you have. Your doctor has told you that they are going to put you on an Enhanced Primary Care Plan (EPC) and that you have up to 5 ‘free’ visits with a Physio.

Let’s break this down and go through any information you may need to know.

What Is An Enhanced Primary Care Plan?

An EPC is a plan on the Medicare Benefits Schedule where GPs are able to plan treatment for patients who suffer from a chronic or terminal medical condition with other medical providers.

Can I get a Medicare Rebate for Physiotherapy?

The short answer is YES! The long answer is yes, but there are a few conditions.

Firstly, you must meet the criteria, and that is generally centred around ‘chronic’ conditions, meaning something you have had for more than 3 months.

Secondly, you need to have the appropriate referral from your GP, who needs to send you to a Physiotherapy clinic (hopefully us! We’d love to help!)

Once the EPC form is filled out by your doctor, they will fax a copy to the chosen provider so that they can get you on their system.

At Physio Group South West, one of our Admin staff will give you a buzz once they have the EPC referral and book in your initial appointment. It’s as simple as that and you don’t need to do any extra work!

How many visits will it cover?

EPC allows for a total of up to 5 rebated consults to any referred allied health practitioner, per year. That could include Physiotherapy, podiatry, dietetics, speech pathology etc.

So for instance, your GP may refer you for 3 Physio consults and 2 Podiatry consults.

This number is renewed each calendar year, but you will need a new referral each year to access them.

Is It Really Free?

While we would love to help you out with free treatment, unfortunately we cannot bulk bill Medicare for Physiotherapy at our practice, so there will always be a small gap payment.

How does the Medicare EPC rebate process work?

It’s a tricky process- the joys of working with a government body!

At our practice, the first step is to actually pay the full fee upfront  but don’t worry, we use your card that has either a savings or cheque account to refund $53.80 back onto your account from Medicare which will arrive within the day or at the very latest, early the next day!

This works out to be:

Physio initial assessment – $90.00

Gap Payment – $36.20

Physio follow up assessment – $78.00

Gap Payment – $24.20

Senior Physio initial assessment – $105.00

Gap Payment – $51.20

Senior Physio follow up assessment – $78.00

Gap Payment – $36.20

Summary

To wrap it all together

• Yes you can get a Medicare Rebate for Physiotherapy using the EPC program.
• You need a specific doctor’s referral and the right type of physical condition
• You can get $53.80 rebate or up to 5 visits per year, including all your allied health visits allocated
• There will always be a small gap fee
• We can process the rebate on-the-spot, straight back into your debit/savings accounts

If you have any specific questions at all regarding the ECP process, please call or email us, and we are more than happy to answer them!

Alternatively, your GP can also answer your questions.

We look forward to helping you move better, feel great and enjoy life!