What is MyMedicare?
MyMedicare is a voluntary patient registration system that aims to formalise the relationship between patients, their general practice, general practitioner (GP) and primary care teams.
When you register in MyMedicare, it will notify your general practice that you have chosen them as your regular care team.
Additional funding will be available from the government to help them provide the care you need.
MyMedicare patients will have access to:
- greater continuity of care with your registered practice, improving health outcomes
- longer Medicare Benefit Scheme (MBS) funded telehealth consultations with your GP
- triple bulk billing incentive for longer MBS telehealth consultations for children under 16, pensioners, and concession card holders, from 1 November 2023
- connections to more appropriate care in general practice for people who visit hospital frequently, from mid-2024.
- Changes to Aged Care benefits and to Chronic Disease Management are planned for 2024, and additional benefits are forecast to be introduced over time.
Talk to your regular general practice or GP about registering in MyMedicare, or find out more at health.gov.au/mymedicare
Who is eligible for MyMedicare and VPR?
To be eligible to register with a practice you must have attended two face-to-face visits at that practice within the last 24 months, and you must have a Medicare or DVA card.
How to register?
- From 1 October 2023 eligible patients can register with MyMedicare. You are now able to register online or at the practice.
- To register you can use MyGov or the Medicare Express Plus App or a form at reception
- From 1 November 2023 registered patients will have access to new Medicare rebates for longer phone and video consultations.
What do I need to know?
- Registration is voluntary and can be changed if your circumstances change in the future.
- Our commitment to providing you with access to the highest quality care remains unwavering, and we want to reassure you that we do not intend to make any changes to the way you access care at Summerhill Medical Centre, or to the practitioners’ existing private billing policy.
- Neither the practice nor the practitioner will receive payment for you registering.
- Patients can only register at one practice, but some people may be eligible to choose between multiple practices, depending on where they have received medical care within the last 24 months.
- Patients should choose to register with their preferred practitioner at the practice they intend to continue receiving their care at.
- You can choose not to register, but you may miss out on extra Medicare benefits that you could be receiving.
- There will be options for patients to register online or in-person at the practice.