Medicare Safety Net to cover private medical bills.

Medicare Safety Net to cover private medical bills among the private billing bloodbath. Bulk billing is when your doctor does not charge you any out-of-pocket fees. The Government pays your doctor a minimal rebate. The doctor bills you privately when you have to pay out-of-pocket on top of the rebate.

It is hard to find a bulk billing GP in Australia. More General Practices start billing privately. X-ray and CT scan clinics are rarely bulk billing now. This situation puts a lot of pressure on people. Some patients have to pay thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket fees. Luckily, some clinics still bulk bill. You can find some of them here.

Medicare Safety Net is to cover private medical bills to help individuals and families. Medicare Safety Net returns all the money paid for medical services after spending a certain amount. For example. Your family attended privately billing doctors and paid $2,249.80. Medicare will cover all private fees that are paid over that amount. The same applies to individuals. The threshold for individuals is the same $2,249.80.

Another good news is that the Medicare Safety net covers X-rays, psychologists and doctors. Patients can receive rebates for all services under Medicare.

Patients must register for the Safety net with Medicare using the myGov portal or by calling 132011. You do not need to register if you are an individual, but couples and families must register. You can register for Safety Net here.