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The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is backing calls for a trial of GP-prescribed exercise sessions and weight-loss programs to see if they were as cost-effective as conventional care.

The AMA's move follows a call by the Eastern Ranges General Practice Association (ERGPA) of Victoria for patients to get a Medicare rebate for working out with a personal trainer under a new proposal. The proposal has been published today in the Medical Observer journal.

ERGPA told the Medical Observer that it wants existing fitness-related Medicare benefits schedule items expanded to include anyone sent by their GP to a personal trainer.

ERGPA Chief Executive Kristin Michaels says that the rebate would fit with the Federal Government's new 'Medicare Locals' program aimed at focusing on GPs and stopping people from having to attend hospitals.

Michaels told the Medical Observer that "to qualify for the rebates, patients would need to be referred by their GP to a trainer who was registered with a professional body and subjected to additional training the same as every other allied health professional."

Michaels explained that patients would be "prescribed" a set number of sessions with their progress measured according to a written exercise plan, adding that "it would make gyms and ï¾ that level of expertise, available to people who wouldn't necessarily otherwise have the disposable income available for them to pay."

Michaels said ERGPA planned to discuss the personal trainer rebate with the Government's new Australian National Preventive Health Agency.

AMA President Steve Hambleton called for a trial of the program to see if it worked and was cost effective, stating "let's trial some of these things so doctors can be confident the lifestyle prescription they're writing can be cost effective."

Fitness Australia Chief Executive Lauretta Stace welcomed the proposal saying the rebate would allow people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to access fitness programs, stating "using Medicare is a good way of facilitating that."

Stace points out that financial incentives to exercise are already in place with some private insurers, but add that a Medicare rebate initiative would be "more attractive for the whole population, and more effective".

Meanwhile, Sydney tabloid newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported on the story with the headline 'Your taxes to pay for gym trips of 'unhealthy' people'.

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