Tom* left the navy a year ago after serving for 12 years, and returned to the ACT to live with his family.
He needed mental-health support and had been visiting his family's GP practice in the Canberra suburb of Crace.
However, the practice recently emailed all patients to say it would no longer accept Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) white cards for payment.
White cards are given to some veterans to access treatment for injuries suffered during their military service, including mental illness, and some other conditions.
The surgery's decision means some injured veterans — including Tom — will need to pay GP fees like other patients, supported by the standard Medicare rebate.
Tom said he spent a year building a relationship with his GP, who provided specialist care that he knew would be hard to find elsewhere.
"I may think twice about going to see a doctor now for issues that are related back to my service," he said.
"Obviously, [for] general health, flu, that sort of stuff, then sure, but for the mental-health stuff, I may put it aside for the time being."
'Reluctant' change a 'financial necessity'
White card holders receive free treatment for some service injuries from participating health providers, including GP clinics.
However, it is sometimes unclear which treatments the card covers.
Nor is it compulsory for health services to accept DVA cards, which also include gold and orange cards.
Medical practitioners receive marginally more funding for treating white card holders than the Medicare rebate, which doctors say is too low to sustain their practices.
If they accept the higher veterans' rebate, they cannot charge the patient a gap fee.
Tom's GP clinic, YourGP, told patients that its doctors and staff "deeply value and support our military veterans".
"We have GPs, nurses, staff members, and family members who have served in the armed forces," its letter read.
However, the clinic said it could no longer accept the veterans' rebate as payment.
"Many DVA patients are accustomed to not paying for their medical care. This change will come as a shock," the letter read.
"We wish to assure you that this change in billing is being implemented reluctantly, and with sadness, due to the financial necessities of running a small business."
Veterans' benefits confusing: doctors
Kerrie Aust, the president-elect of the Australia Medical Association, said she was unsurprised by the clinic's decision.
Dr Aust, herself a Canberra GP, said the federal government had not addressed the financial risks that medical practices faced.
"We are going to see more limitations of service," she said.
Dr Aust said her veteran patients had told her they found it increasingly difficult to access care from allied-health professionals.
"I'm seeing more and more organisations declining to provide the services, not because they don't want to — we all really value it, our community [Canberra] in particular — but it's just not financially viable to continue to provide the service."
She also said helping veterans who had multiple medical problems, by directing them to services and working out which rebates are available, could be confusing.
"I think DVA has a role in providing a bit more education and communication to GPs about how to manage those with complex presentations, where one condition might be one kind of cover but then another would [require different cover]."
Thousands of services do accept card, DVA says
The DVA's website notes it cannot guarantee that any health provider will "assist your needs".
However, Tom said the department should work with Medicare and the government to discourage doctors from withdrawing from veterans' health schemes.
He also said there was no master list of medical providers and services that would accept white cards like his, which had confused him in the past.
The DVA told the ABC it was aware some healthcare providers were "unwilling to accept DVA payment rates and will charge veterans a gap fee for a consultation, as they do for their other patients".
"This is a business decision for the providers concerned," a departmental spokesperson said.
"There are many thousands of healthcare providers in Australia, including GPs, who accept the DVA veteran card for full payment of their services."
* The veteran requested that the ABC not use his real name.
