Medicare

Services Australia delivers Medicare (Opens in new tab) and related programs, providing Australians with access to some health services at low or no cost.

Vision and mission

To help Australians access a wide range of health services and affordable health care through Australia's universal health care system.

How Medicare can help

Medicare helps with the costs of seeing a doctor, getting medicines and accessing mental health care.

The Australian government pays for Medicare through the Medicare levy. Working Australians pay the Medicare levy as part of their income tax.

When you enrol in Medicare, they pay some or all of the costs of your necessary health care.

Keep in mind, they don't pay for all medical services.

The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) (Opens in new tab) lists the services they pay for. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing manages the MBS. Read more about what's covered. (Opens in new tab)

If your doctor bulk bills, they pay the cost directly to the doctor. This means you won't have to pay anything. Read more about how bulk billing works. (Opens in new tab)

You'll need to pay for your appointment if your GP doesn't bulk bill. You may be able to claim some of this money back from Medicare. Make sure you've registered your bank account details with Medicare to get Medicare refunds. Find out more about getting Medicare benefits. (Opens in new tab)

Medicare also help to make some medicines more affordable for you through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Read more about Medicine and Medicare. (Opens in new tab)

If you have high medical costs, there are ways to help keep your costs under control. Read more about help with medical costs. (Opens in new tab)

Information line Contact Medicare (Opens in new tab)

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