MyMedicare is a new voluntary patient registration initiative that has recently been announced by the Federal Government. It aims to strengthen the relationship between patients, their usual General Practice, their General Practitioner (GP) and other members of their primary healthcare team. Under this system, patients will be able to formally register with their preferred General Practice if they choose to do so.
What are the benefits?
Choosing to register with your preferred Practice will enable you to access the maximum Medicare rebates available, thereby reducing out-of-pocket costs for certain healthcare services.
While the full extent of the benefits is still being unveiled by the Government, we currently know that registering with your preferred practice will give you:
- Better Medicare rebates for long telephone consultations (lower out-of-pocket costs)
- Greater continuity of care with your registered practice, helping to improve health outcomes
- Increased funding for your healthcare if you have a complex medical condition and often go to hospital
- Greater support for Residential Aged Care
Who is eligible to register?
Most patients will need to have 2 face-to-face visits recorded with the same practice in the previous 24 months to be eligible to register with that practice. Parents/guardians and children can be registered at the same practice if one of them is eligible and registered at the practice.
You can only be registered with one practice at a time. It is worth noting that voluntary registration does not restrict you from using other Practices, but at this stage it appears that the new benefits will not be available to you when attending a practice other than the one you are registered with.
How do I register?
Registration opens on 1st October 2023.
We recommend that you consider which Practice you wish to be registered with and register as soon as possible after registration opens.
You will be able to register in the following ways:
- Do it yourself online, using Medicare online services (Medicare Online Account or the Express Plus Medicare mobile application)
- Ask our staff to help you
Express your interest now
We are currently accepting expressions of interest for registration with GPs on Curzon. To do this, please email info@curzonmedical.com.au with “My Medicare” in the subject line. Include your full name and date of birth. Our staff will then start the process to register you when registration opens.
A final note
We know that change can be daunting. Please be assured that GPs on Curzon is committed to continuing to provide high quality, ongoing medical care to our existing patients. Based on the information we have available, we do believe that registering with your preferred Practice through MyMedicare will be beneficial.
