Medicare card

[Kramvi]

Applied for a Medicare card and been waiting for it.  Wondering if I want to see a doctor before the card arrives, how does it work?  Or can it be billed to them only after it has arrived?  Can I see the doctor now and bill them later?  How does it work?  

[rammygirl]

You should be able to get the number or have been given it, that’s all you need.  If you download the Medicare plus app you should be able to link it to my gov and get a digital card too. 

[Kramvi]

6 minutes ago, rammygirl said:

You should be able to get the number or have been given it, that’s all you need.  If you download the Medicare plus app you should be able to link it to my gov and get a digital card too. 

But Rammygirl I wasn't given it yet.  I submitted the required documents through email and got an automatic confirmation.  However it says that the card could take at least four weeks to arrive and that they will not entertain any communication regarding the status.  What should I do?  

[Nemesis]

2 hours ago, Kramvi said:

But Rammygirl I wasn't given it yet.  I submitted the required documents through email and got an automatic confirmation.  However it says that the card could take at least four weeks to arrive and that they will not entertain any communication regarding the status.  What should I do?  

Pay the bill then claim it back from Medicare later (assuming your doctor is covered by Medicare)?

[rammygirl]

The card will be available on the express plus Medicare app long before you get it in the post, especially at this time of year. It actually says it should be available online after you enroll. Worth a try anyway. I tried to link the website but it doesn’t work. 

[Kramvi]

On 15/12/2023 at 07:44, rammygirl said:

The card will be available on the express plus Medicare app long before you get it in the post, especially at this time of year. It actually says it should be available online after you enroll. Worth a try anyway. I tried to link the website but it doesn’t work. 

Rammygirl this might work.  But where do I get the number from?  I wasn't given a number yet

[Kramvi]

The following is the only response that I had got.  So where do I find my medicare number?  

 

This is an automated response from Services Australia.

mes@servicesaustralia.gov.au<mailto:mes@servicesaustralia.gov.au> is ONLY for lodging documentation for the following:


•         Medicare Entitlement Statements

•         Medicare Enrolments

•         Change of Medicare details requests, and

•         Authority to Act on Behalf of Another Person

Any enquiries on the progress of an application will NOT be actioned.

Make sure your documents are;

• clear and show all information.
• in PDF, JPG, PNG, GIF or BMP format.
• less than 5MB each.
• less than 10MB in total.
• are NOT password protected or in a WinZip or RAR file.
• we are unable to view or open links to documents stored within online data storage facilities like Dropbox or Google Docs.

  
  Medicare is currently experiencing a large number of applications and there may be extended delays in processing times. We appreciate your patience and your application will be processed as soon as possible.
  
  For more information, please go to https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/medicare
  
  To speak to us in languages other than English, call 131 450 (call charges may apply).

********************************************************************** IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and may contain information that is confidential, commercially valuable and/or subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended recipient you are notified that any review, re-transmission, disclosure, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information is prohibited and may result in severe penalties. If you have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender immediately and delete all electronic and hard copies of this transmission together with any attachments. Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

[rammygirl]

Have you downloaded the app? You need your my gov log in to access your account online. I can’t remember exactly but the app will take you through it. The app is Medicare expense plus and is green. 

[Kramvi]

Rammygirl thanks for your replies and sorry about the delay in replying.  It seems that even to link the medicare to the mygov, one needs a medicare number.  Without that it doesn't seem possible.  How can I possibly connect the two when I don't even have my medicare number?  All I did was to send the application form and the required documents via email to them and I received an automated notification immediately that the email was received.  There has not been any communication from their part yet.  

[Nemesis]

29 minutes ago, Kramvi said:

Rammygirl thanks for your replies and sorry about the delay in replying.  It seems that even to link the medicare to the mygov, one needs a medicare number.  Without that it doesn't seem possible.  How can I possibly connect the two when I don't even have my medicare number?  All I did was to send the application form and the required documents via email to them and I received an automated notification immediately that the email was received.  There has not been any communication from their part yet.  

If you don't need a doctor at the moment, don't worry about it.

If you need to see a doctor, explain the situation, pay the bill, get the receipt and claim it back later from Medicare. Unless you are lucky enough to get someone who bulk-bills you at point of use, then you'll have to pay and claim the medicare part of it back later anyway. 

[Kramvi]

1 hour ago, Nemesis said:

If you don't need a doctor at the moment, don't worry about it.

If you need to see a doctor, explain the situation, pay the bill, get the receipt and claim it back later from Medicare. Unless you are lucky enough to get someone who bulk-bills you at point of use, then you'll have to pay and claim the medicare part of it back later anyway. 

Thanks Nemesis I will do exactly that.  So you mean find a doctor that bulk bills explain the situation but visit the doctor only when needed.  

[Nemesis]

33 minutes ago, Kramvi said:

Thanks Nemesis I will do exactly that.  So you mean find a doctor that bulk bills explain the situation but visit the doctor only when needed.  

There's no point in going to a doctor until you need to. And you  might well find that by the time you need a doctor, you have your medicare card.

If you have to pay because you have to visit a doctor before you have your card, then you pay, get the receipt, and claim it back from Medicare later.  

[Philip]

I don't know why it says "you will get your card in 3-4 weeks" because I just called the medicare phone line and they said it will take 4-5 months from the date you sent the email.

As long as you keep any receipts for now you should be able to claim whatever back later.

One reason it may be taking so long is that you can skip the queue by calling during business hours. If you manage to get through to someone who can do enrolment on the phone they may be able to do it immediately

[Quoll]

On 22/12/2023 at 12:37, Kramvi said:

Thanks Nemesis I will do exactly that.  So you mean find a doctor that bulk bills explain the situation but visit the doctor only when needed.  

Why do you need a doctor that bulk bills? Go to any doctor and pay them, if you need to see one. Then claim off Medicare when you get your card. It's what the rest of us do - you'll just have to wait a little bit longer for your refund when you get your card. 

[rammygirl]

I thought online was supposed to be faster! Before this was a thing we just went into an office and applied they gave us a number to use before the card arrived. How can they justify 4 months!

Complain to your local MP 

[Philip]

Yeah I went to services australia and they said they are not involved in enrolling.

PRs and only PRs, not citizens, can enrol online, possibly immediately. But if you want a card for a family then you have to do it via the email service (or post).

The call centre person said they are processing emails sent in Sept '23 right now.

The problem is that I apparently have a card which was meant to be cancelled 5 years after my family stopped living in Australia (over 20 years ago) but that didn't happen. It's linked to my childhood address, but they won't tell me the number. I'll try what the person suggested about calling at 8.30am on Monday

[rammygirl]

And if you get “computer says no”. Try again.  I tried 5 times to get a mobile phone issue sorted…. I could have kissed the last guy I spoke to who said “right I can see this has been going on for a while…..shall we just apply some common sense and get it sorted!”

 

[Philip]

So I called again, the agent just said "yup I can see you emailed over a month ago, I'll process it now". It then took over an hour, no wonder the regular waiting time is 5 months

Which minister decided to stop in person enrolments? At the Services Australia location I went to some staff were just sitting around until the next client came in

@Kramvi as it's been more than a month and you haven't received your card yet, call during normal business hours and hopefully they will do yours straight away too

[InnerVoice]

On 13/01/2024 at 19:30, rammygirl said:

And if you get “computer says no”. Try again.  I tried 5 times to get a mobile phone issue sorted…. I could have kissed the last guy I spoke to who said “right I can see this has been going on for a while…..shall we just apply some common sense and get it sorted!”

 

Let's hope he still has a job. No doubt after that phone call he was severely reprimanded by his line manager for making decisions 'well above his pay grade'.