Co-payments Disastrous for People with Serious Mental Illness: RANZCP

Concerned with how a co-payment will affect those with a mental illness, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RNZCP) is calling on non-Government Senators to oppose the proposed Budget measures.
“We already know that many people with mental illness struggle to get the care they need”, RANZCP President Dr Murray Patton said. “However it is clear from our analysis, that the proposed co-payments will make an already bad situation, much worse. "We are concerned about the effects of these Budget measures on people with serious mental illness, particularly those who also have physical illness. "In particular, we are concerned that the impact of the pathology co-payment has not been thoroughly considered. "We would welcome the opportunity to discuss with the Government the impacts of this reform on people with serious mental illness.”
RANZCP is concerned that the gap between life expectancy in patients with a mental illness and the general population has widened since 1985. People with serious mental illness live between 10 and 32 years less than the general population. Around 80% of this higher mortality rate can be attributed to the much higher rates of physical illnesses such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and cancer experienced by this population.
“People who struggle with serious mental illness already face a range of barriers obtaining access to appropriate, high quality healthcare and we know that this impacts on their physical health. "These new co-payments will be one more barrier. "This will lead to other health problems not being identified or treated properly, leading to deterioration in patients’ health.” Dr Patton said.
The report has highlighted a number of particular problems for people who have both mental and physical health issues:
1. A number of treatments for serious mental illness can cause side effects that, if left untreated, cause metabolic disorder, cardio-vascular disease and diabetes, and a range of other serious health issues. The best way to diagnose and manage these side effects is through regular pathology testing. These tests will now attract a $7 co-payment for each test.
2. People who are not eligible for a healthcare concession card because their income is marginally too high ‘fall through the gaps.’ They are particularly disadvantaged by the new co-payment, as they will have to pay the full rate co-payment for pharmaceuticals, GP visits and pathology testing. These additional costs can amount to many hundreds of dollars each year for care that is related to managing both physical and mental health conditions.
3. Consumers, carers and psychiatrists consulted as part of this report all thought that the co-payment would change the way they used health services and medication and could put their health at risk.
“This new co-payment regime will be particularly difficult for people who need to take medication to manage a mental health condition, the medication puts them at risk for a whole lot of other conditions, and then they are slugged with additional costs if they try to manage those side effects. We have serious concerns about the health impacts of these co-payments for this most vulnerable group of consumers.” Dr Patton said.
“We call on the Senate to continue to block the implementation of these measures. The College has a range of policy recommendations to ensure that healthcare remains affordable for people with serious mental illness. We would welcome the opportunity to work productively with the Government on a better package of reform for people with serious mental illness.”
Download Keeping your head above water: Affordability as a barrier to mental health care from www.ranzcp.org