From Wednesday, some patients will be able to consent to ongoing bulk billing.
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has revealed how the new enduring assignment of benefit option for certain vulnerable patients will function, just days out from the go-live date.
From 1 July, patients who are registered with MyMedicare, live in residential aged care or are a patient of an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation or Aboriginal Medical Service can give their consent to be bulk billed for future appointments.
Originally slated for introduction in April 2027, the implementation date was unexpectedly brought forward in response to GP concerns about how new assignment of benefit provisions would work.
On Thursday last week, Governor-General Sam Mostyn officially signed off on the regulations allowing enduring assignment of benefit to go ahead.
Under the regulations, a valid enduring assignment of benefit will be a written declaration including the following:
- that the agreement is an enduring agreement
- the patient’s name, signature and the date of the agreement
- a description of the services covered by the agreement
- the doctor or practice details
- the method by which post-service notifications will be provided
- how the doctor or patient may terminate the agreement (this can be provided via link)
If the patient is registered with MyMedicare, the agreement also has to include a statement that the patient understands that after each occasion on which an agreement service is rendered to them, the doctor or practice will send a notification. The patient also has to record their consent to receiving this communication.
Once the agreement is signed, GPs are required to bulk bill the patient for any future services within the scope of the agreement until that agreement is terminated.
Related
All GP services can be covered by an enduring assignment of benefit agreement. GPs have the freedom to specify the individual MBS categories, groups, subgroups or items that will be bulk billed as part of the agreement.
According to the latest iteration of the DoHDA fact sheet, which was uploaded to its website on Monday, the agreements can be signed by eligible patients or a person acting on their behalf.
Patients who are younger than 14 must have their patient or guardian sign for them, but the agreement must be made anew once they turn 14.
The rules are slightly different across the three settings.
MyMedicare patients will only be able to make one enduring agreement, and it will be at their registered practice.
ACCHO and AMS patients will be able to have multiple agreements with multiple ACCHO or AMS clinics.
Residential aged care patients will be allowed to make agreements with multiple practitioners.
Either party can terminate the agreement at any time by giving written notice to the other party.
When a doctor makes a Medicare claim under an enduring agreement for a MyMedicare patient, they must notify the patient in writing within 24 hours. There is no such requirement for aged care or ACCHO/AMS patients.
GPs will be the only class of health professional which can enter an enduring assignment of benefit.
The new regulations also specify that a copy of the agreement must be retained by the practice.
GPs can access the full fact sheet and the regulations online.
