New data from the Australian Tax Office shows that the number of people being charged the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) has almost quadrupled over 6 years. Data found 768,537 Aussies paid the MLS in the 2022-23 financial year, up from 196,807 in 2017. An article in The Australian says the increase is due to rising...
Australians treated with natural therapies may soon be able to claim rebates on Extras Cover. Following a review completed last year, the government has reinstated 7 of the 16 natural therapies that were removed from private health insurance cover in 2019. The health insurance industry is now developing framework to cover: Private Healthcare Australia, the...
Bupa members who had Hospital Cover claims rejected between 1 May 2018 and 31 August 2023 may be entitled to compensation. The health insurer has announced it incorrectly rejected “mixed coverage” claims – claims for 2 or more treatments at a time – and certain other types of claims during this period. Bupa has apologised...
Members of Teachers Health and TUH are about to become part of the sixth largest health insurer in Australia. The two not-for-profit insurers have announced they will merge next week on 1 July, forming a combined insurer that will cover 500,000 people, Teachers Health said. TUH said the merger will bring some small benefits to...
Australians uncertain about whether or not to get health insurance could find the decision a little easier next week, as of 1 July. Those who don’t have Hospital Cover and earn over a certain income threshold get charged the Medicare Levy Surcharge at tax time – a levy of between 1% and 1.5%. For some...
Australians are claiming on private health insurance more than ever, new data shows. The latest figures from APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority), which regulates the health insurance industry, show that insurers paid $18.9 billion in Hospital Cover claims for the 12 months ending 31 March 2025 – an increase of 6.9%. For Extras Cover claims,...
Healthscope private hospitals remain open for surgeries and treatments, despite the organisation going into receivership this week. Some Australians with Hospital Cover were concerned that private hospital treatment could be harder to access in the wake of the Healthscope collapse, but the organisation said its hospitals will remain open for treatments. Healthscope – which operates...
The government has announced it will investigate health insurers for using a loophole to raise their prices. In December last year, Minister of Health Mark Butler warned health insurers to stop ‘phoenixing’ policies after a Commonwealth Ombudsman report brought the practice to light. By law, health insurers can only raise prices once a year, but...
CEO and Founder
Chief Operating Officer
Chief Technical Officer
Writer and Researcher
UX/UI Designer
Brand and Graphic Designer
Led by Chris Payne
Yes. The most recent Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review ran from 2015–2020. The MBS Review Taskforce looked at more than 5,700 MBS items to see whether they needed to be amended, updated or removed. The objectives of the review were to: The review collected feedback from thousands of stakeholders, which helped shape its final recommendations...
The Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) does not include a wide range of medical and health services:
Services from doctors included on the MBS MBS Benefits are payable for these types of services from doctors: Services from allied health professionals included on the MBS MBS Benefits are payable for some services from allied health workers, including: How services from allied health services for patients with a chronic disease are funded under the...
The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Fee is the amount the Australian government sets as appropriate to pay a health professional for a particular service. The fee is listed in the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS). The MBS also lists the rates for calculating the benefit payable by the government: Type of service Amount General practitioner (GP)...
The Medicare Benefits Scheme and the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) are terms that sound similar but refer to completely different parts of the Australian Health System. The Medicare Benefits Scheme is the official name for Medicare, which is Australia’s universal health scheme. In contrast, the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) is the list of all medical...
The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) is a vital part of Medicare, Australia’s universal healthcare system. It lists all the medical services that the Australian government subsidises and pays a Medicare Benefit for. The MBS lists each service with: Generally, the MBS includes these types of services: The Australian Government Department of Health manages the MBS...
In this Guide, we outline how the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) operates, as well as answer your most common questions. The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) lists all the medical services where the Australian government subsidises and pays a Medicare Benefit. This Guide explains how the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) works, as well as what services...