By now you will have received notification from your private health insurer informing you that your rebates for naturopathy will no longer be available.  For the millions of people who have benefited from the very real and very powerful results of naturopathic care, this political decision is equally concerning and confusing.

While we are busy being politically active, speaking and writing to members of parliament and signing petitions to change this unfounded decision, it looks like it is still going ahead as of the 1st April, 2019.

You will still be able to take advantage of your rebates for naturopathy up until the 1st April and as far as we understand, all claims that need to be made online for past appointments must be submitted before the 1st of April as well. If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to organise your receipts and make those claims.

We will keep fighting for this decision to be overturned and if you are benefiting from your work with our naturopaths, you can fight for it too. Give your local member a visit or call, write a letter using this template or sign this petition and help them to see how valuable our naturopathic services have been for your health and fertility outcomes.

There is SO MUCH EVIDENCE to support naturopathy and it’s not difficult to find the published research for the benefits of herbal, nutritional and lifestyle medicine.  In fact, we are about to launch a book with over 200 scientific references supporting naturopathic approaches just for preconception. This represents a mere drop in the ocean for research and evidence supporting naturopathic approaches in diet and lifestyle modification, herbal and nutritional medicine for fertility, general health, acute and chronic conditions.

Rest assured that FGHG naturopaths will continue to provide professional, evidence-based naturopathic support and you will still be able to claim for acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, osteopathy and remedial massage at Fertile Ground, so all is not lost! Besides, the benefits you receive from naturopathic support will continue well beyond any rebate you don’t receive!

If you would like to learn more, or do something about the decision to remove naturopathy from health insurance, we hope you find these links to information useful and insightful.

Petition – change.org
Have your say – template letter to the government
Letter to Minister from Your Health Your Choice – Formal request to Australia’s Health Minister, Greg Hunt to amend the Private Health Insurance  Rules 2018
Article – Article from Gill Stannard: You’ll soon be unable to claim for naturopathy and herbal medicince
Article – How did the Australian government conclude “There’s no evidence for naturopathy”
Article – Subsidies for natural therapies abolished 
Latest news – Your Health Your Choice Facebook Page
Listen to report – Discusses the flawed method of review in the decision to amend private health for naturopathy. Features Professor Stephen Myers, Southern Cross University