Medicare

Medicare is Australia’s universal health insurance scheme. It guarantees all Australians (and some overseas visitors) access to a wide range of health and hospital services at low or no cost. Find out what we’re doing to improve Medicare for all Australians.

About Medicare

What Medicare is, how it works, who’s eligible and who manages it.

What's covered

What Medicare does and doesn’t cover, and other support programs. 

Safety nets

Safety nets provide extra support to people with high medical costs.

Compliance

How we protect our health payment system from incorrect billing.

As a health practitioner you must meet certain requirements to bill for Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items under Medicare or prescribe subsidised medicines. Pathology and diagnostic imaging services must also meet accreditation standards to access Medicare.

Information for health practitioners

Health Products Portal

The Health Products Portal helps us work with the medicines and technology sector more efficiently. Industry can make, track, pay for, and manage submissions to list products and services on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) or Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Schedule.

Learn more about the portal

News

News

Minister for Health and Aged Care, speech - 4 November 2024

Read Minister Butler's speech at the Stronger Medicare Awards.

Resources

Resources

AskMBS email advice service

This fact sheet provides an overview of the AskMBS email advice service. This advice assists health professionals, practice managers and others to understand and comply with MBS billing requirements.

Working Better for Medicare Review – Final report and appendices

This review examined how effective our current health workforce ‘distribution levers’ are. These levers consist of policies and geographic classifications that are intended to distribute health workforce across areas that need them most. Read the report and its appendices.

IOC communique – 13 September 2024

The Strengthening Medicare Implementation Oversight Committee (IOC) met on 13 September 2024 for its fourth formal meeting. This document provides a record of the meeting.