Medicare

[anj1976]

Hi Kaz and Lisa,
Lisa i am sorry for posting my question here but i thot its best as a reply to what she just said regarding medicare. This might be of use to you as well.

Kaz, How much does one pay for the medicare provided by the Centrelink?

Cheers
Anjali

[kaz101]

Hi Anjali,

I moved your post rather than add to Lisa's list of questions.

Medicare is a benefit that you receive. You don't pay it with a fixed monthly fee as such, you pay for what ever services you need such as a GP (General Practioner Doctor) appointment, and then you get a rebate from Medicare.

There is a link to the Medicare website in the "Please Read..." post if you need more info on Medicare.

Regards,
Karen

[anj1976]

so tht means u come to australia and you can take the benefit of medicare. not immediately though but after a aiting period.
this was worrying me since i heard medical is damn expensive there.
in india it isnt that expensive, probably that is the reason why we do not have the medicare facility here, and of-course India is still developing.
The dentals too is very cheap here.
We get mediclaim here which just supports hospital charges, on condition that you are admitted in the hospital for a day or more.

[kaz101]

Most people take out private health insurance (and I think that there are tax benefits if you do this too) since medical expenses are not cheap here. When I visited the GP it was around $32 after the rebate from Medicare. That was quite a shock after having 'free' medical in the UK.

The private health insurance can also cover dentists depending on the policy that you want.

Regards,
Karen

[Dolly]

Hi,

We've just taken out private healthcare with MediBank. Whether we think it will be worth it we'll have to wait and see.

Also remember that if you go to a GP who bulk bills, you won't have to pay anything. You sign a form after seeing the GP and they do the rest. And you don't have to stick with the same GP either.

Dolly

[kaz101]

Originally Posted by Dolly

Also remember that if you go to a GP who bulk bills, you won't have to pay anything. You sign a form after seeing the GP and they do the rest.

Don't you pay something in another way? We don't have bulk billing out here since we're in a regional area so I'm not sure how that works.

Regards,
Karen

[Dolly]

Originally Posted by kaz101

Don't you pay something in another way? We don't have bulk billing out here since we're in a regional area so I'm not sure how that works.

Regards,
Karen

Hi Karen,

Well that's what I thought, but my friend who goes to a bulk billing GP says all she does is sign a piece of paper and doesn't hand over any money. I've asked a few people since being over here and they're all a bit 'fuzzy' as to exactly how bulk billing works!

Just found this: Bulk Billing FAQ - Medicare Australia

Dolly

[kaz101]

Originally Posted by Dolly

I've asked a few people since being over here and they're all a bit 'fuzzy' as to exactly how bulk billing works!

Just found this: Bulk Billing FAQ - Medicare Australia

Dolly

Thanks for the link though I'm still fuzzy about it even after reading that.

Regards,
Karen

[kaz101]

Just found another link How does Medicare work? - Medicare Australia. It seems that if your doctor pays by bulk billing then you as the patient don't pay at all, or at least that's how I read it. Medicare pays it all from the benefits. So if you are going to the doctor regularly it makes sense to find one that does bulk billing.

Regards,
Karen