Registering with MyMedicare will tell your general practice that you regard them to be your regular healthcare team and will also help them to provide you with better care.
Current benefits of MyMedicare
After registering, you’ll be able to access longer telephone telehealth consultations with any GP at your practice and they will receive funding from the Government to deliver the care you need.
GPs are now incentivised to bulkbill longer telehealth appointments for children under 16, pensioners, and concession card holders.
Longer funded telehealth consultations may be particularly beneficial for:
- people seeking treatment for mental health concerns
- people with disability or reduced mobility
- older Australians
- people in rural or remote Australia who are not located close to their GP.
Future benefits of MyMedicare
From mid-2024, other GP incentives are planned to come into effect that will benefit older Australians, including:
- incentives for doctors to make regular visits to MyMedicare registered patients in residential aged care. This could mean keeping the doctor you know, if you need to move to residential care.
- incentives for doctors to provide comprehensive, multi-disciplinary care to patients in the community with complex chronic disease who frequently attend hospitals, with the aim of reducing hospital visits.
How to register for MyMedicare
It’s free and voluntary to register. Registration is open to Australians with a Medicare card or Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) Veteran Card. Talk to your regular general practice or GP about registering in MyMedicare, or find out more at health.gov.au/mymedicare or download a FAQ factsheet.
Other Medicare programs: Chronic disease management
If you have a dementia diagnosis, ask your GP to work with you to set up an annual Chronic Disease Management Plan. These plans provide up to five subsidised allied health visits every calendar year.
This can include visits to podiatrists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, exercise physiologists and more. Your GP will coordinate and liaise with your allied health practitioner to ensure you get the support you need to better manage or lessen the impact of unwanted symptoms.
For more information read the article How your GP and practice nurse can help.
