Information for MyMedicare patients

Benefits

It is voluntary and free to register in MyMedicare.

When you register in MyMedicare, it will notify your general practice that you have chosen them as your regular care team.  Additional funding will be available from the government to help them provide the care you need.

MyMedicare patients will have access to:

• greater continuity of care with your registered practice, improving health outcomes
• longer Medicare Benefit Scheme (MBS) funded telehealth consultations with your GP
• triple bulk billing incentive for longer MBS telehealth consultations for children under 16, pensioners, and concession card holders
• more regular visits from your GP and better care planning for people living in a residential aged care home

Further registration benefits for patients will continue to be added as part of our commitment to strengthening Medicare.

Eligibility

You’re eligible to register in MyMedicare if you have:

• a Medicare Card or Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) Veteran Card
• face-to-face visits recorded with the same practice, including either:
  • one face-to-face visit for practices in remote locations (MMM 6 and 7)
  • two face-to-face visits for practices in other locations in the previous 24 months.

People who are facing hardship will be exempt from all eligibility requirements. This includes people experiencing domestic and family violence and homelessness.

Parents/guardians and children can be registered at the same practice if one of them is eligible and registered. A parent/guardian must register a child under 14 years and provide consent on their behalf. Young people aged 14 to 17 years can register and provide consent without a parent/guardian.

How to register

You can register for MyMedicare from 1 October 2023 and select your preferred GP at your:

• accredited general practice
• Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service
• Aboriginal Medical Service
• nurse practitioner-led practice with an eligible GP provider
• other non-traditional practice (who meets the healthcare provider registration and eligibility criteria)

Your chosen practice must be registered in MyMedicare before you can start your own patient registration.

There are multiple ways you can register with your chosen practice in MyMedicare:

• Start the registration process in your Medicare Online Account or Express Plus Medicare Mobile app. Check that your practice is registered in MyMedicare before you start. Practice staff will then accept the registration in the MyMedicare system.
• Your practice may start the registration in MyMedicare or you can ask them to do this. This will trigger a registration in your Medicare Online Account or Express Plus Medicare Mobile app, which you can then complete.
• Fill out a registration form and provide it to your practice. By signing the form, you are giving consent to participate in MyMedicare. Practice staff will then complete the registration in the MyMedicare system.

As part of your MyMedicare registration, you can choose to provide additional information about yourself. This will help your practice, primary care team and the government improve the delivery of your health care. We will share this information with your MyMedicare practice.

The information you provide will help your practice and the government to plan and improve your health care services. You will still be able to register if you do not provide this information.

You will need to agree to the terms and conditions and read and understand the MyMedicare privacy notice to consent to register in MyMedicare

MyMedicare registration will not prevent you from accessing care from other practices and healthcare providers. The longer MBS telehealth items, the new aged care incentive, and from November 2024 Chronic Disease Management items will be linked to your registered practice.

Registering with a Medicare Card or DVA Veteran Card

If you hold both a DVA Veteran Card and a Medicare Card, you can register using either. You can only have one registration, which will apply to any relevant Medicare and/or DVA-funded service, regardless of which card you use to register.

Registering if you live in a Residential Aged Care Home

If you live in a residential aged care home, you can register for MyMedicare by completing a registration form provided by your GP or through your Medicare Online Account. You don’t need to physically attend a practice to complete your registration. People who live in a residential aged care home are exempt from the MyMedicare eligibility requirement for one face-to-face visit for practices in remote locations, or two face-to-face visits for practices in other locations in the previous 24 months recorded with the same practice.

Residents of residential aged care homes will benefit from registering in MyMedicare to access more regular proactive visits and care planning from GPs and practices.

Changing preferred practices or GPs

MyMedicare does not tie you to a particular healthcare provider. You can change your preferred GP within your registered practice at any time.

You can also register with a different practice if you meet the eligibility requirements and the practice is also registered.

You may be registered for MyMedicare with only one practice at a time. If you change the practice you are registered with, the MyMedicare system will automatically cancel your registration with your previous practice. The system will let the previous practice know that you have cancelled your registration.

Withdrawing your registration

You can choose to withdraw from MyMedicare at any time.

If you register for MyMedicare at a different practice to the one you initially registered with, this will automatically withdraw the previous registration and notify the practice.

If you want to withdraw your MyMedicare registration, you can either:

• withdraw from MyMedicare using their Medicare Online Account or Express Plus Medicare Mobile app
• contact your GP or practice and notify them that you want to withdraw your registration from MyMedicare

Privacy

When you register in MyMedicare, your personal information will be kept secure and your privacy will be maintained.

For more information about how we manage your personal information, see the MyMedicare Privacy Notice.

Resources