A major government review is calling for a radical expansion of the number of allied health services funded under the MBS through GP management plans.

The maximum number of sessions should increase to 12 in any calendar year, a draft report from the MBS Review Advisory Committee says, arguing the current limits are failing to meet the clinical needs of patients with chronic conditions.

It also suggests introducing new time-tiered rebates covering allied health sessions for up to 20, 40 and 60 minutes.

To control potential costs, the committee said it considered whether GPs should be required to review patient progress (under MBS item 967) before additional sessions could be claimed, but it decided that a review should remain at the GP’s discretion.