phyllis71 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Hi can anyone tell me what does Medicare cover. My husband needs medication for high blood pressure, and eyedrops for glycoma. Merry xmas to all.:spinny: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Hi can anyone tell me what does Medicare cover. My husband needs medication for high blood pressure, and eyedrops for glycoma. Merry xmas to all.:spinny: Hi Phyllis Medicare is quite a complicated scheme and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is so convoluted that I don't see how it can be cost effective, frankly! For Individuals - Medicare Australia Generally, CPV holders would look for a GP who "bulk bills" for children and the elderly, which several still do. This means that the visit to the doctor costs nothing. The doctor provides the prescriptions, which you have to pay for in Oz unlike in the UK. Currently the charge is about $31.30 per drug, I believe. Let us say that Hubby takes 2 pills a day for his BP plus uses a bottle of eye drops per month. The GP would give him a scrip for a 2 or 3 month supply. There are 3 different drugs in this example so the cost of filling the prescription would be a bit over $90 AUD. The trick for regular prescriptions is always to use the same pharmacist, because the pharmacist keeps a tally of how much each patient is spending. If the amount spent by the patient reaches around $1,200 in a calendar year, the PBS Safety Net kicks in. The pharmacist arranges this and the price comes down to $5 for each drug in the prescription for the remainder of the relevant calendar year. If you hold CPV 143s (the permanent residency visa) you only have to muck about with this complicated system during your first two years in Australia. As soon as the two years is up, you go to Centrelink and get Commonwealth Seniors Health Cards: Commonwealth Seniors Health Card The price of prescriptions is then fixed at the minimum $5 per drug for all time, which saves a huge amount of cost and hassle. This Card provides other benefits as well so have a good look at the blurb about it. Hospital appointments for Hubby's eyes wouldn't cost him anything on Medicare. He probably wouldn't need to see a specialist about his BP but if he needed to do so, that would also be free if he uses the Medicare system for the purpose. Seniors Card is another excellent scheme and CPV holders of 60 or over can normally get a Seniors Card as soon as they arrive in Australia: Welcome to Seniors Card Cheers Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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