Gary Humphries (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Rod Kemp, representing the Minister for Human Services. Will the minister inform the Senate of the action that the government is taking to make Medicare rebates easier to claim?

Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for the Arts and Sport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Humphries for that very important question and the continuing care that he shows for his constituents in the ACT. On the weekend, the Prime Minister, with the Minister for Health and Ageing and the Minister for Human Services, announced a significant change to the way people can claim their Medicare rebate. Currently 80,000 Australians queue up every day in Medicare offices to claim back their Medicare rebate. There are around 14,000 doctors’ surgeries across the country, and most of them have EFTPOS machines already in place. Common sense would say that, if they can simply swipe their credit card or their debit card in the machine, along with their Medicare card, why can’t we put the money straight into their bank accounts and save them going to a Medicare office?

From around the middle of next year, all Australians will be able to swipe their Medicare cards and a debit card to claim their Medicare rebate. It is a great win, not only for people in the metropolitan areas, where it takes an average of 25 days to 29 days for people to claim back their Medicare rebate, but for people in regional and rural areas, where the statistics I have suggest that it can take up to 79 days for people to get back their Medicare rebate. Under this new system, by simply swiping your Medicare and debit cards, the Medicare rebate will be paid directly into your bank account within 24 hours.

The figures that have been presented to me suggest that the average cost to an Australian family of going and claiming their Medicare rebate is around $10. That does not include things like parking fees and a range of other charges that people often have to put up with. The new Medicare claiming system will mean that there will be no need to fill out paperwork or wait in queues. By using the EFTPOS network, we can ensure that the new claiming process is available to the public as quickly as possible. The system will put an end to queuing up in lunch hours, filling out forms and waiting for cheques to come in the mail. The system will also free up Medicare officers so that we can continue to build on the number of services that are available, such as the introduction of the Family Assistance Office online services.

It is clear that the Australian government listens to the Australian people. We have listened to Australian families and we are responding accordingly. This is a very significant step forward. It is a positive step forward for all Australian families. It delivers real benefits to the Australian people and it illustrates yet again, as the minister for health would say, that the Howard government is the best friend that Medicare has ever had. I also say to my colleague Joe Hockey that this continues the excellent service that he is providing that very important portfolio. All Australians will be extremely grateful for this important announcement.