Geordie George

Hi all,

Another one of my rambling 'we went here and we did this and it was good' threads - you have been warned!

So, yesterday was spent productively; we went into Sydney and got medicare sorted out. Took all of about 15 minutes, start to finish. (Top tip for you though - don't go during office lunch hours! It's busy with people lodging claims, so the queue's longer.) All we took in the way of ID was our passports and a copy of our tenancy agreement. Nice woman behind the counter took copies of both (including the passport page with the visa in, which confirms eligibility) and filled in the forms for us. You can either have a card per person, or one card for a family. (There's only Mr GG and I in our household.) We opted for just the one card, as it makes things easier for claiming stuff, apparently. Nice woman gave me a receipt and an advice slip detailing the card number. Card itself is due within 28 days (I think she said, from memory ). The only part that you have to do yourself seperately is register for the medicare safety net (if you're a couple or family. Individuals are automatically registered.). I've included links below for specific info about the schemes, rather than go on about them here, as they'll stay up to date and I can't be bothered explaining it .

Health Insurance Commission
http://www.hic.gov.au/

Medicare specific bit of the above site:
http://www.hic.gov.au/yourhealth/our_services/am.htm

(This site includes a search facility to allow you to find the nearest office. We went to the one at Wynyard - near the station - in Sydney, which is just around the corner from the RTA licensing place on York Street. Mighty convenient for a morning of dull admin! See other thread for more on the licence side: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=293250)

Medicare safety net specific bit of the above site, including link to the on-line registration form:
http://www.hic.gov.au/yourhealth/our.../about_msn.htm

NSW specific health site:
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/

I do go on, I know. Sorry.

Hope someone finds it useful.

GG

soapy©

GG you were lucky i think. we were too. ive heard its who u get when u get there. ive spoken to a few people who have had hassles

karenjc

Thanks Patrick & Nichola
Thats just the sorts of ins and outs we need to be aware of & knowing before hand makes it easier when we get there.
So just keep on rambling - I'm making notes!!!
Karen x

spalen

Thanks GG I Was due to look all this stuff up tonight and you've saved me the hassle.

Merlot

Top stuff again GG, you need to write a book.

Merlot

storerg

Geordie George,
Do you if a post box in Sydney is acceptable as an address for Medicare and Driving Licence.

Cheers in Advance. storerg

Geordie George

I'm pretty sure (well, about 80%!) that you must have a proper residential address and can't just use a PO Box number. But maybe someone else can confirm? Otherwise maybe try looking on some of the websites I suggested?

Not overly helpful, I know.

Sorry.
GG

Geordie George

Having now had cause to visit a doctor ( but nothing serious! I'll live!), I thought I'd post the fees charged by the practice I visited, to give people an indication of the costs. Of course, take it with a pinch of salt 'cause it's specific to the Glebe Family Medical Practice in Sydney (who are lovely, helpful people ).

Anyway, here goes (and note, these are weekday charges only. The price increases if an appointment is on a Saturday or Sunday!):

Fee GAP

48.00 17.15 (standard consultation <20 minutes)
79.00 20.45 (20-40 minute)
115.00 28.80 (>40 minute)
84.00 31.60 (<20 minute home visit)
115.00 34.90 (20-40 minute home visit)
145.00 37.25 (>40 minute home visit)

I was also charged a $10 first-visit admin fee.

(A repeat prescription, without a consultation costs $10.)

Claiming the money back from Medicare was quite straightforward - just took the form the doctor gave me along to the office in Wynyard, along with my medicare card (which turned up earlier this week, so they processed that quickly!) and got the relevant % back.

So, $58.00 doctor's fee, lab tests $75.00 and prescription about $95.00 means a grand total of ... $228.00!

Moral of the story - don't get ill!

GG

Un-Co

Hi GG,
Did you have to register with the Glebe doctors before you had to go or did you just make an appointment and turn up? I'm in Annandale and at the moment go all the way over to Neutral Bay when I'm sick or need a perscription filled. It's good to know there's a good doctor nearer home.
Having said that I'd rather take your advice and just not get il!!!

Geordie George

Hi there,

I just called them and asked to make an appointment. They asked whether I'd been before and when I said no, they asked me to turn up a little before my appointment time to register first. Just a couple of tick-box type forms to fill in and that was it. Very quick and easy. And I was able to get an appointment the next day (as I called very late in the afternoon, otherwise I think it would have been the same day); which I was impressed by, as my doctor in Oxford was usually booked up a week in advance! The pratice itself is excellent - it seems quite new and modern, with lots of doctors and good opening hours.

GG

ABCDiamond

That is something that is pretty common here, you can normally get to see a Doctor the same day, or next day at the latest. Especially with the fact that you aren't tied to just one Doctors practice. With our ones I never used to make an appointment, just turn up, wait 2-20 minutes, and get seen. But now the Doctor we prefer has become popular, they now recommend making appointments normally for the next day, although they see children as priority on the same day.

As an exampole of our Doctors fees. A private patient would pay $40 for a basic consultation, but they bulk-bill for medicare so it costs us nothing.

Geordie George

The being seen so quickly is a great bonus I really wasn't expecting! But you reminded me - the practice I've adopted doesn't bulk bill, hence my at the costs; I'm out of pocket until I claim back. Happily, that seemed pretty straight forward. Oh, though the practice gave me the option of sending off the form to medicare directly. I just chose to collect in person, as I'm not working at the moment, so it's not a major hassle.

GG

ABCDiamond

This is an area that comes to down to the $ factor.

Almost everyone could get to see a bulk billing dotor, if they wanted to avoid charges, but the result would be waiting a week or so for an appointment, as they would be so busy

If everyone refused to go to Doctors that charge more than the Bulk Billing figure, the Doctors would either charge less, or migrate to another country But I am sure we would end up with less Doctors, and long queues.
The end result is that most people pay more money and get faster service.

bondipom

The surgery across the road charges for those wanting appointments and bulk bills those wanting to wait. It depends on where you live as to the number of surgeries and bulk billing rates. The further from the suburbs doctors live the worse the service. This means SW Sydney gets a raw deal whilst the Eastern Suburbs and North Shore are over supplied.

spottydog

I'd like to know the same thing, or if I can use a friends address or street number mailbox (i.e. the address doesn't include PO Box in it) since I plan on travelling for 3 to 4 months when we finally arrive so will be out of time for getting a driving licence if I have to wait until we've found somewhere to rent and got a rental agreement. We're heading over to Sydney next month so I'd really like to get everything like this sorted during this holiday.