For health professionals
On this page
- Check System Status
- Online education services—refresh your knowledge online in just a few easy clicks
- Budget 2009–10
- Medicare electronic claiming communication campaign
- Changes to your online services
- Increased Medicare compliance audit initiative
- New provider percentile charts
- Changes to legislation affecting the PBS
- Increased Medicare compliance audit initiative
- Are you a new prescriber?
- Medicare Teen Dental Plan and Medicare chronic disease dental scheme
- New laws on inducements for pathology and diagnostic imaging effective 1 March 2008
- Financial assistance for switching on electronic claiming
Check System Status
The system status pages that are accessible via the links below will assist you to identify whether the relevant systems are currently available at Medicare Australia. Each of the status pages contain a Service Announcements section for important messages and a section on how to interpret the details of the status page.
New Medicare offices:
- Belmont, Western Australia
- Belmont, New South Wales
- Warrawong, New South Wales (using the existing Centrelink Service Centre in King Street Shopping Centre until a purpose built co-location facility is completed in 2010-11).
Further information on Budget measures announced can be found on the following websites.
- Budget 2009-10
- Department of Human Services
- Department of Health and Ageing
- Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
- Department of Immigration and Citizenship
Online education services—refresh your knowledge online in just a few easy clicks
Medicare Australia’s online education services offer you increased access to nationally consistent learning and support—whether you are a new health professional, or established in your practice.
Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, online education services provide an easy to use and convenient way to refresh your knowledge of Medicare and PBS requirements.
Online education services are updated regularly, so make sure you bookmark our website to check for updates and new content.
For more information, visit online education services as they are already on the Medicare site.
Budget 2009–10
On Tuesday 12 May 2009 Treasurer, The Hon. Wayne Swan MP, delivered the Federal Budget for 2009–10. Of the budget measures announced, a number affect Medicare Australia through new initiatives and changes to existing policies.
Medicare Australia specific measures
Fraud and compliance program—matching of MBS and PBS data
This measure will enable Medicare Australia to match Medicare Benefits Schedule and Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule claims data to allow systematic data matching and profiling for compliance purposes.
Medicare Australia will use the information to investigate compliance, fraud and debt recovery inline with current processes.
Medicare Australia—additional offices
As part of the Federal Budget, funding has been approved for three new Medicare offices. The Australian Government has committed $7.0 million over four years to deliver better Medicare services. Where possible the new offices will be co-located with existing Centrelink Service Centres to provide easy access to Medicare services for local residents, in line with the Service Delivery Reform agenda.
New Medicare offices:
- Belmont, Western Australia
- Belmont, New South Wales
- Warrawong, New South Wales (using the existing Centrelink Service Centre in King Street Shopping Centre until a purpose built co-location facility is completed in 2010-11).
Further information on Budget measures announced can be found on the following websites.
- Budget 2009-10
- Department of Human Services
- Department of Health and Ageing
- Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
- Department of Immigration and Citizenship
Medicare electronic claiming communication campaign
Medicare Australia is running a communication campaign to promote Medicare electronic claiming to the Australian public. The campaign, starts on 17 May and will run until 30 June 2009. It aims to:
- increase Medicare cardholder’s awareness and use of Medicare electronic claiming in medical practices
- encourage take-up among medical practices.
The campaign will be regionally focused and targeted. It will consist of advertising in newspapers, magazines and on radio. This will be supported by direct mail to Medicare cardholders in selected areas. Cardholders will receive a letter and a brochure promoting Medicare electronic claiming and encouraging them to register their bank account details with Medicare Australia.
If your practice is in one of the targeted areas, you will receive a letter to inform you about the messages we are delivering locally.
Around 50 events are being held in May and June 2009 to give practice managers more information about getting started with Medicare electronic claiming. Practice managers with experience using Medicare electronic claiming will be available to discuss how it works in their practice. You will receive an invitation if an event is being held in your area.
More information
For more information about patient claiming through Medicare Online and Medicare Easyclaim call 1800 700 199 to talk to one of our Business Development Officers.
Changes to your online services
Phase 1 of Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) was introduced in late March 2009. HPOS offers a single entry point for all your online service needs.
To continue to make it easier for you, we have now introduced the ability for online Patient Verification via HPOS. Online Patient Verification allows you to search for and confirm patients’ Medicare details.
Use your Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) location certificate to access Patient Verification.
To access the full range of HPOS information and services, you will need a PKI individual certificate. To register for PKI, visit HPOS.
Increased Medicare compliance audit initiative
As part of the 2008-09 Federal Budget, the Australian Government announced an increase in Medicare Australia’s compliance activities and some amendments to Medicare Australia’s audit powers.
These changes include:
- creating an obligation for providers to produce records substantiating their MBS claims
and
- establishing new financial penalties for providers who have claimed MBS items incorrectly.
In October 2008, the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) and Medicare Australia produced a fact sheet about the initiative and invited stakeholder comments. Organisations representing providers, consumers and privacy groups have provided submissions and/or met with DoHA and Medicare Australia to provide input.
The fact sheet ‘The Increased MBS Compliance Audit Initiative: Your questions answered’ provides further details on how the proposed legislation changes will operate, and responds to common stakeholder questions. The fact sheet outlines:
- how providers are selected for MBS compliance audits
- why the changes to the audit process are being made
- what the Government is doing to assist providers to comply.
For more information, download the Increased MBS Compliance Audits information sheet [PDF, 319Kb]
.
New provider percentile charts
New Provider percentile charts show the number of services billed by peer groups for selected MBS items. You can use these charts to compare your billing data with your peers.
Changes to legislation affecting the PBS
Changes to legislation will give your customers greater access to affordable medicine through the PBS and the PBS Safety Net.
These changes include:
- Safety Net—equal treatment for same sex couples (as part of broader legislative changes relating to same sex couples)
- Safety Net—couples separated by illness
- PBS—government officers working outside Australia.
PBS Safety Net—equal treatment for same sex couples
From 1 January 2009, PBS Safety Net families can include same sex de facto couples and their dependants, providing the same access to PBS Safety Net benefits for all couples, regardless of gender. The same Safety Net rules will apply for these families and they will be eligible for the same thresholds and concessions.
To be included as part of a Safety Net family, a couple must be living together on a permanent basis, unless living separately due to illness (see below).
PBS Safety Net—couples separated by illness
From 1 January 2009, married and de facto couples living separately due to illness, infirmity or frailty (for example, for nursing care, residential or Aged Care) can access PBS Safety Net benefits jointly as a family, as if they were living together.
PBS—government officers working outside Australia
Up until recently, it has been illegal for you to supply PBS medicine for a person who is not in Australia at the time of supply, and for PBS medicine to be sent overseas for another person.
Changes to the legislation mean you can now dispense PBS prescriptions for Commonwealth, state or territory government officers working overseas, and for their accompanying partners and dependants. The medicine can be sent out of Australia for use by these officers and their families. Safety Net benefits and entitlements apply.
Before dispensing, check:
- you are satisfied the person is eligible for PBS access—information from the officer’s government agency or department can be used for this purpose
- the Medicare card number or Veterans’ Affairs entitlement number is valid.
More information
Department of Health and Ageing Website
Call Department of Health and Ageing PBS Information Line 1800 020 613*
* Call charges apply from mobile and pay phones only.
Increased Medicare compliance audit initiative
As part of the 2008-09 Federal Budget, the government announced an increase in Medicare Australia’s compliance activities and some amendments to Medicare Australia’s audit powers.
As part of the initiative, an additional 2000 MBS compliance audits will be carried out each financial year, starting in January 2009. This will increase Medicare Australia’s audit coverage to about 4 per cent of the provider population, compared to current audit coverage of less than 1 per cent.
The government also announced that it will:
- introduce legislation to create an obligation on providers to produce records substantiating their MBS claims
- establish new financial penalties for providers who have claimed MBS items incorrectly.
In conjunction with the Department of Health and Ageing, Medicare Australia has recently circulated an information sheet to key stakeholders. The information sheet provides further information on the increased MBS compliance initiative and invites public submissions on some of the details.
For more information, download the Increased MBS Compliance Audits information sheet [PDF, 131Kb]
Are you a new prescriber?
Learn the ropes of PBS prescribing with PBS and You online learning. It is a self-paced program that teaches you how to prescribe according to PBS requirements. This program supplements existing face-to-face introductory sessions offered by Medicare Australia.
Medicare Teen Dental Plan and Medicare chronic disease dental scheme
On 1 July 2008, the Australian Government introduced the Medicare Teen Dental Plan to help with the cost of an annual preventative dental check for eligible teenagers.
The Medicare chronic disease dental scheme was introduced in November 2007. The scheme allows chronically ill people who are being managed by their GP under an Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) plan access to Medicare rebates for dental services.
- Medicare chronic disease dental scheme
- Medicare chronic disease dental scheme forms for dentists
- Referral forms for GPs – Medicare chronic disease dental scheme are available on the Department of Health and Ageing website or by faxing a request to (02) 6289 7120.
For more information
Call Medicare Australia on 132 150 or visit the Department of Health and Ageing website at www.health.gov.au/dental
Online Medicare eLearning for Dentists
An eLearning program has been developed to support dentists who are new to billing Medicare. The program is interactive and easy to use. Modules include 'What is Medicare?' and 'Billing and Claiming.' The program takes approximately 45 minutes to complete.
New laws on inducements for pathology and diagnostic imaging effective 1 March 2008
There have been changes to the legislation around inducements for pathology and diagnostic imaging referrals. These new laws are effective from 1 March 2008. They apply to any existing arrangements as well as any new arrangements put into place after 1 March 2008.
For more information visit Pathology Services on the Department of Health and Ageing website or call 132 150.
The Department of Health and Ageing has consulted with pathology, diagnostic imaging and medical organisations about the development of regulations. The regulations provide extra detail on some aspects of the legislation.
Further consultation is currently underway. If you have any comments or need more information, please contact the Department of Health and Ageing at legislativeamendments@health.gov.au
.
If you are unsure how the changes will affect you, please seek legal advice.
Financial assistance for switching on electronic claiming
If you’ve recently switched on Medicare Easyclaim, Medicare Online or ECLIPSE, you may be eligible for financial assistance. More information about Medicare Australia’s Transitional Support Package can be found on the Claiming choices page
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Last updated: 2 July, 2009