The Natural Therapies Review of Private Health Insurance Rebate will be performed by the Department of Health and Ageing. This review will commence in July 2012 and will be overseen by the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Baggoley. The notices about the consultation can be monitored at www.health.gov.au under the consultations tab.

AAMT is expecting to participate in this consultation process by providing submission supported by evidence based research. Strategies are currently underway to maximise this evidence base data. AAMT members can contribute to the AAMT by responding promptly to any surveys or commentary when requested by AAMT. AAMT has already advised Professor Baggoley of our position within the natural Therapies arena, our sustainability and core work on evidence based literature reviews.

The rebate changes are expected to be implemented from 1 January 2014. If massage is found not to be clinically effective in this review, Private Health Insurance rebates may no longer be made available to clients. The industry needs to proactive and prepare for any possible changes. At this stage a scoping process is occurring at AAMT to ensure that the Association can establish a strong evidence based argument for massage so that it is supported in the DOHA Review.

Members will be advised as more information comes to hand.