Aged Care
Medicare card number and eACCR - implementation
Medicare will be extending online access to Aged Care Client Record (ACCR) data to additional aged care providers.
Approximately 80 per cent of ACCR’s are submitted electronically and all approved assessments (paper and electronic) are available on the secure Aged Care Online Claiming (ACOC) website.
Currently, only Residential and Community Care providers have access to the ACOC website. This limits the ability of other approved aged care providers to determine if care recipients are approved for care (prior to agreeing to providing care).
On 10 December 2011, Medicare will implement changes to the ACOC website to allow additional aged care providers access to ACOC in order to obtain the electronic Aged Care Client Record (eACCR).
Medicare will extend online access to ACCR data to the following additional aged care providers:
- Extended Aged care at Home (EACH) providers
- Extended Aged Care at Home Dementia (EACHD) providers
- Transition Care (TC) providers
- Multi Purpose Services (MPS)
- Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres (CRCCs).
If you would like to register to use the ACOC website, you will need to complete an authorisation form and forward to Medicare for processing. The relevant form will be available on the Medicare website in early 2012.
In addition to extending online access to ACCR data, Medicare has taken this opportunity to strengthen the privacy and security of the care recipient. Additional measures will be put in place to protect care recipients personal information.
To access care recipient ACCR data when using Aged Care Online Claiming (for care recipients who are not in your care), you will be required to provide:
- the care recipient’s name
- date of birth
- Medicare card number and
- a reason for accessing the person’s aged care approval information.
The system will only display a care recipient’s information if all the supplied information can be verified.
If a care recipient is unable to provide a Medicare card number eg. the care recipient has forgotten their card; or the care recipient does not have a Medicare card (has a DVA Gold card), and they also do not have a copy of the ACCR, provisions have been put in place to assist the facility in retrieving the ACCR from Medicare. These provisions will be outlined in updated Quick Reference Guides.
There will be no change to the way you access approval information if the care recipient is already in your care.
The changes will be introduced to the existing Care Recipient and eACCR search functions.
Also from 10 December 2011, changes will be made to ACOC to enable residential care providers to access the following Medicare card information for recipients in their care
- the Medicare card number
- individual reference number and
- expiry date.
This will assist aged care providers to facilitate medical consultations for their care recipients in cases where the current Medicare card number details are not available which prevents medical professionals to claim.
The Aged Care Online Claiming Website User Guide for providers and services will be updated to reflect the changes mentioned above prior to implementation.
For more information call the Aged Care Online Claiming helpdesk on 1800 195 206* (option 1). You can also find more information on the frequently asked questions page on this website.
Changes to Payment Statements
From November 2011, paper payment statements and claim forms will no longer be provided to services that have transmitted a full range of events^ electronically over a three month period.
Previously the paper based payment statements had a greater level of detail about claims than the online payment statements. In April 2011 improvements were made to the online payment statements to show the same information as the paper payment statements.
Currently, services that already claim a full range of events online have the ability to view and download the payment statement and claim forms in addition to receiving paper based payment statements and claim forms. Viewing and downloading the payment statement and claim form online is a more efficient way to receive the payment statement and claim form. For these services who currently receive both versions, the October 2011 payment statement and claim form will be the last paper based payment statement and claim form you receive.
For services who do not yet transmit a full range of events electronically, but aim to in the future, this change will not take effect until you have transmitted a full range of events for three months. After this time all future payment statements will be accessible electronically only.
To stop receiving paper payment statements and claim forms prior to November, send a written request signed by your key personnel to:
Medicare Australia
GPO Box 9923
For services located in:
ACT, NSW, QLD and WA send to: SYDNEY NSW 2011 or fax to (02) 9895 3031*
NT, SA, TAS and VIC send to: MELBOURNE VIC 3001 or fax to (03) 9605 7395*
For more information call 1800 195 206**
^ A full range of events refers to all events including finalised claim
* Call charges apply
** Call charges apply from mobile and pay phones only
Aged Care Approved Provider Statement
In response to your feedback, we are changing the Aged Care Approved Provider Statement (provider statement) process to make it easier for you.
Providers with services registered for Aged Care Online Claiming
The last time you need to complete the provider statement is in 2011. The terms and conditions for Aged Care Online Claiming have been amended to include the provider statement’s terms and conditions.
- View the new terms and conditions for services using Web forms [PDF, 94Kb]
- View the new terms and conditions for services using File Upload or B2B [PDF, 95Kb]
You do not need to re-sign a new Registration for Aged Care Online Claiming as the terms and conditions in your original application remains valid.
Providers with services not registered for Aged Care Online Claiming
You must continue to submit the provider statement but instead of submitting it each year it will need to be submitted every three years. The 2011 statement will be for the period 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2014.
Note: all providers (including those registered for Aged Care Online Claiming) must complete this year’s provider statement which will be sent in April, by 30 June 2011.
For more information go to the Aged Care approved provider statement—your questions answered [PDF, 129Kb] information sheet.
To register for Aged Care Online Claiming complete the Registration for Aged Care Online Claiming form or call 1800 195 206* to speak to a Business Development Officer.
For more information call 1800 195 206*.
Stay informed with Aged Care eNews and eNews alerts
Aged Care eNews
is a monthly eNewsletter to keep you up-to-date with:
- industry news
- developments in online claiming
- information about the Aged Care program.
eNews alerts provides you with instant alerts and notifications about the Aged Care Online Claiming website and Medicare Australia's system performance.
Subscribe now to Aged Care eNews and eNews alerts or eNews alerts only.
Read the current edition of Aged Care eNews.
Aged care payments
Medicare Australia administers more than $8 billion worth of aged care payments annually to approved providers across a range of residential, community and flexible Aged Care programs.
Medicare Australia is responsible for the processing and payment of:
- residential aged care subsidies and associated supplements for high-level and low-level residential care
- residential respite care subsidies and associated supplements for short-term high-level and low-level residential care
- community aged care package subsidies to support people with low-level complex health needs and their carers
- flexible aged care subsidies including:
- extended aged care at home subsidies to support people with high-level complex health needs and their carers
- extended aged care at home dementia subsidies to provide dementia specific support to people with high-level complex health needs and their carers
- transition care subsidies for short-term rehabilitation care to recipients after care in hospital.
Aged Care Online Claiming
Medicare Australia’s Aged Care Online Claiming is a fast and secure solution that allows you to easily transmit forms online and claim directly with Medicare Australia. For more information about online claming, go to Aged Care Online Claiming.
Feedback/enquiries
We value your feedback as it helps us to improve our service and stay in touch with your needs. Send us your feedback and enquiries by filling out the Aged Care feedback/enquiries form.
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Last updated: 17 November, 2011