Draft report calls for more chronic care visits under Medicare
05 Nov 2026
The recommendation comes from the Medicare Review Advisory Committee (MRAC), which says the existing system needs updating to better support Australians living with long-term health conditions.
The committee found that the current Medicare rules have not kept pace with the growing demand for chronic disease care. The existing items were introduced around 22 years ago and have remained largely unchanged.
The report identifies several areas for improvement, including annual service limits, consultation times and access to group programs.
It recommends increasing the annual limit for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients from 10 to 17 individual services.
MRAC also proposes raising the number of group sessions from eight to 12 per patient each year. Group services would also become available to people with chronic or terminal conditions beyond type 2 diabetes.
The report suggests allowing more health professionals to provide group services, including physiotherapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, chiropractors, speech pathologists and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners.
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright supports increasing the number of visits, saying the current five-session limit does not provide enough support for many patients.
He said the proposed 12 visits would help GPs arrange more multidisciplinary care, although some patients may still need additional support.
RACGP Specific Interests Diabetes Chair Dr Gary Deed also welcomed parts of the proposal. However, he said care plans should include clear treatment goals and measurable outcomes to track patient progress.
He also highlighted concerns about the additional administrative workload for GPs and the challenges of coordinating care for patients with multiple health conditions.
The report further recommends allowing all eligible health professions to provide group consultations through phone and video telehealth services, rather than limiting this option to dietitians.
Another proposed change involves introducing consultation time categories of 20, 40 and 60 minutes. The committee said this would better reflect the time health professionals typically spend with patients and help address gaps between consultation costs and Medicare rebates.
The draft report is now open for public feedback through the Australian Government's consultation website.
Draft report calls for more chronic care visits under Medicare
Source: Australian Government – MBS Review Advisory Committee (MRAC), Draft Review of MBS-Referred Chronic Condition Management Items.