The April 1 marks start date of the Private Health Insurance industry reforms. And another increase in insurance premiums.
This post aims to explain the latest, and particularly what we are doing to make sure we stay compliant and that you can continue to claim rebates.
There is a questionnaire here to download, fill in and return if you currently attend groups and claim health insurance rebates.
Physiotherapy is not affected by the reforms, but Pilates isn’t unscathed.
The government (and especially the health insurers I suspect) wanted to stop paying any rebates for Pilates services. However, a middle ground was negotiated. Luckily, our equipment groups are in line with the new rules, but there are still some caveats.
One is that the name of our groups will change from Pilates equipment groups to Physio Group Treatment – it suits these groups better anyway!
You will notice us making a really conscious effort not to call them Pilates groups, even though this is what we have called them for 10 years!
If you attend our Physio Group Treatment (the groups formerly known as Pilates Equipment Groups), it is important that you understand the changes and where you stand with your Private Health Insurance.
These two pages are worth reading. Each is about a 3 minute read, full of the sharp wit you would expect from a discussion about health insurance.
- A summary version of how the changes have affected Pilates groups – read it here
- Frequently asked questions about the reforms – read it here
If you prefer watching to reading, we have also created an explainer video which should explain much of it – watch it below. Enjoy!
If you plan to continue to to claim rebates, this is what we need to do.
There are a few things that it appears we will need to do:
- we need to formulate a treatment plan for you
- we have created a questionnaire to make that task easier that you must fill out if you plan to claim for these groups now or in the future
- we may need to do a review session with you in order to satisfy their requirements if a review of your programme hasn’t been done in recent months.
We need to be able to justify your use of the 560 code so that if your insurer ever questions your attendance, we can argue a strong case for you claiming on your Private Health Insurance.
Having said that, having good goals and outcome measures and regular reviews is good practice anyway, so irrespective of the reforms, this is a good thing to make sure that you are staying on track, kicking goals and having fun.
It is important to remember that this is now a requirement of the provider that these reforms have enforced.
Please don’t get grumpy at Jacqui or Brooke or any of the physios about any of this – it’s not their fault.
It is just how it is now, for better or worse.
If you have any questions, speak with your physio, our receptionistas or best of all, speak directly with your insurer about what they are planning on covering on April 1.
