MBS rebates for acupuncture restricted to ‘qualified’ doctors
The changes announced in the federal budget will come into effect in November
Medicare rebates for acupuncture will be restricted to doctors who have done a one-year training course, health officials say.
The move, confirmed in last month’s federal budget, had been recommended by the MBS Review Taskforce’s general practice committee, which said it will “promote high-quality acupuncture”.
MBS item 173 — which has a schedule fee of $21.65 and allows any doctor to claim a rebate for any acupuncture service — will be scrapped from November.
The item was claimed 22,000 times in the past financial year, although claims have been falling for the past decade.
