angelpie

My daughter has a reflux on her Kidney meaning that she has to take antibiotics daily to prevent infection. Would we have to get private health care or will antibiotics be available to her through Medicare? Also with regards to specialists would we just visit doctor and get referred as we did in England. Obviously we'll bring all her notes but the condition does require yearly monitoring - scans etc.....

Thanks for any info on this

Jaime

GinaUK

If you get a permanent residency visa you will be able to get the antibiotics through medicare. And yes, the doctor will do the referral to a specialist.

Have you sent off your visa application already? If you haven't sent it off yet, can I suggest that you contact Peter Bollard in Sydney. His website: http://users.bigpond.net.au/onk/

He advises people with health issues on their visa application.

Good luck.

Gina

MrsDagboy

Just one little comment - whilst part of the cost of the doctors consultation (80% of the scheduled fee) is covered by Medicare, the antibiotics or any other medications she (or you) will need will come out of your own pocket. Medicare only covers doctors visits, not medication (unless its after hours in an A&E ward of a hospital).

angelpie

Thanks for that.

Is it similar to UK where there is a set prescription charge or does it vary depending on medication prescribed?

Thanks Jaime

MrsDagboy

Hi Jaime, (hope you are sitting down for this rather long & involved explanation )

In Australia we have a scheme called the PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme). If the drug is on the PBS (many prescription drugs are) then there is a maximum amount you will have to pay for the script & the govt subsidises the rest. So if you go to the chemist & get a script filled for a PBS drug, the most you will pay is $29.50. If the medication costs less than that (some do), you will pay the lesser amount.

If you spend alot of money on prescriptions per year there is a PBS safety net where if you pay more than a certain amount per year ($960.10 per family or $253.80 if you are a concession card holder) the rest of the years scripts are at a reduced rate of $4.70.

This is completely different to the Medicare Safety Net which is a safety net for people's out of pocket expenses for medical treatment (don't ask me that one cos Im still confused about it, just register at your local Medicare Office & they will keep a track ).

Hope that helps, someone else may be able to add more, but that's a general run down of how it works.