Two new Medicare offices open in Victoria
Two new Medicare offices have opened in Fountaingate and Rosebud in Victoria.
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Previous Ministers8 July 2004
ABB104/04
Two new Medicare offices open in Victoria
The opening of two new Medicare offices in Fountain Gate and Rosebud in Victoria further demonstrates the government's commitment to strengthening Medicare.Residents living in Melbourne's outer suburbs will now have even greater access to Medicare services. The new offices will also allow families in these areas to register more easily for the Medicare Safety Net.
In addition to the opening of these new offices, 114 Medicare offices will open on Saturday mornings from 9.00am until 12.30pm on an ongoing basis from 7 August. The Heath Insurance Commission has decided to extend opening hours of the busiest Medicare offices to make it more convenient for people to claim Medicare rebates. The Fountain Gate office will be open on Saturdays.
Medicare ensures that all Australians have access to high quality and affordable health services. The services provided through local Medicare offices are an important part of our health system.
There are now 228 Medicare offices across Australia providing a range of services including claiming for Medicare rebates, PBS entitlements and the 30 per cent rebate on private health insurance.
To improve access for busy families to Medicare offices, the Health Insurance Commission (HIC) opened most offices across the country for Saturday morning trading from June.
To date three million families have registered for the new Medicare Safety Net. Importantly, more than 131 000 families and 30 000 individuals (totalling 426 000 individuals) now in the safety net are already being reimbursed for 80 per cent of their out-of-hospital expenses for the rest of the year. The safety net is expected to help more than one million Australians this year.
Australians can also visit a Medicare office to register on the Australian Organ Donor Register, check their child's status on the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register and access the Family Assistance Office.
For more information on registration for the safety net or to find your nearest Medicare office visit www.hic.gov.au or call 1800 011 163.
For more information call Mr Abbott's office on ph 02 6277 7220.