medicare card
 

hi

can anyone help me? I have a doctors appointment as I have got a chest infection and am in need of antibiotics, on my medicare card it says 'immidiate neccessary care only' does this mean i can see the doctor or what? I have tried to read the medicare stuff but i dont understand and my appointment is at 1.30pm, please can anyone help?

laura
x

Re: medicare card
 

Give medicare a ring if you are in any doubt....

Thanks for reminding me.....i keep forgetting to go get my medicare card.

Re: medicare card
 

Hi, just read your other interesting post - good stuff!

Just go to your appointment, surgery will advise you what to do, they did with us. Will not refuse to see you if that is what you are worried about!
Cost is what you need to think about!!! Just go with the flow - we were in the same position and just had to learn as we went along - that is the best way - believe me!!

Hope you feel better soon! Know what chest infections can be like - horrid!!!

Gill
:)

Re: medicare card
 

just called them up and yes i am covered to see the doctor and to have a subsidised prescription....

laura
x

Re: medicare card
 

It depends on the DR, some bulk bill but not many. And very few bulk bill for your initial consultation. Normally it's about 50$ ish

The healthcare system here is very confusing and a bit of a joke.

I'm lucky because my wife works for HIC and knows it inside out.

Re: medicare card
 

I can only tell you what I did when I was on my temp 4 yr visa ( I'm just guessing you maybe on a temp visa? as my card doesn't say these words). I didn't bother getting a medicare card when I was on a temp visa, and didn't have one - your British passport is enough when claiming at the medicare offices if you want to pay cash to your doctor without a medicare card, then claim it back.


I paid out of my pocket kept the reciepts from doctors and then went into a medicare office in a shopping centre with my bunch of receipts ( a years worth time I went in) and my British passport ( reciprocal act - a brit passport is all that you need, it's just that medicare card for temp visas holders too makes it easier for them - nice and tidy. You don't really need to get one on a temp visa , I didn't when I was temp) and was rebinbursed for most it ( minus the gap that my doctors charged), drugs no ( for some odd reason -been swindled lol).

Re: medicare card
 

Yeh, I agree with you :eek: The healthcare system here is very confusing!

Thats why I said to learn as you go along - thats the only way we have found out what to do - and we are still a bit confused! Some do bulk billing some dont, some are private some are not!! Its soooooo frustrating when you are feeling ill :( Costs vary from one to the other! Its a mine field isn't it :rolleyes:

Thats my moan out of the way, just hope we dont need to go for a while :)

Happy Happy Happy Days :D

Re: medicare card
 

We have the same on our card, we have used it at gp's and hospital with no problems. Hope you are feeling better soon,
Ruth

Re: medicare card
 

thanks for the help guys,

i went to the doctors, and what a plesurable experience it was too.... :)

The receptionists where friendly and helpful and very chatting, I was very shocked as they are not like this where I came from, think you needed a degree in nastiness and hons in rudness to work in a UK surgery. Anyways they were really nice and so was the doctor.

He even asked me if i needed a sick note for being off work today, i said yes and he asked me how long i wanted off!!! So i have taken tomorro off aswell :) cant be bad ey!

It was all free, apart from the prescription which was $19.35.

So now i just need to relax and enjoy my day off tomorro and let the antibiotics kick in........... :D God I love it here :)

laura
x

Re: medicare card
 

Maybe because here, if you don't like the way you are treated, you can take your custom elsewhere, very easily.
I remember in the UK you seemed to be tied to the one Doctor, unless it has changed ?

Hope the antibiotics work well. :)

Re: medicare card
 

Personally I have had bad experiences with the system here and I find it rather corrupt. I look back to the NHS with a sad sense of fondness. I have found that the Asian non native English speaking doctors can been hard to deal with.

That said my GP is excellent and easily on a par with my old family GP in the UK. And he bulk bills everything.

As I said earlier, my wife works for HIC so I hear first hand the horror stories of desperate people being screwed by the system. That is just my biased way of looking at it.

Re: medicare card
 

In what way do you find it corrupt ?

Re: medicare card
 

For starters doctors have a free hand to charge what they like for procedures, this is not regulated.

Not all doctors bulk bill, meaning that a generic checkup from one doctor can very from the next.

The private health care system is a joke, it is not fully private. There is no guarantee of faster service and it does not cover costs fully (the gap etc).

My wife has also heard several complaints from people who have been admitted under public health but charged privately, even though they have not consented to this.

The whole system needs a major revamp, but the government does not care and is not prepared to take on the Doctors.

Sorry to any doctors who I maybe offending with this, but this is the sad state of things.

Re: medicare card
 

I think that this part is regulated by the patients, and the fact that they can go elsewhere if they feel that one doctor is overcharging.

I did change doctors once, when I was actually charged more than the scheduled fee. If everyone does that, then it keeps things in check without relying on government intervention, (something that is often complained about on here that there is already too much of :) )


I agree about that Gap on private insurance, but that isn't the medical system as such, more the way the insurers work. However the government did recently try to bring about Gap cover. Not sure how it went down in the end, as premiums probably had to go up to cover it.