Educating patients on the impact of the MBS freeze

Medicolegal

28 Apr 2015

While the Government has abandoned almost all of its policies it has remained steadfast on its four year freeze of Medicare rebates, the AMA says.

If doctors absorb the freeze, their practices will become unviable. This means the freeze will have a knock-on effect that could ultimately lead to higher private insurance premiums and higher out-of-pocket costs for patients.

The AMA has developed a wide range of resources to help doctors communicate this to their patients.

AMA resources:

Indexation Freeze gaps poster. This shows the impact of the MBS indexation freeze compared to annual indexation of medical fees.

Privately insured in-hospital services graphs. These show the potential impact of the MBS indexation freeze on privately insured in-hospital services.

How health care is funded. This guide explains to patients how health care is funded and why they might have out of pocket costs for their medical care.

Template letter about increased medical fees. Use this template to tailor your practice’s information to your patients about how the Medicare freeze will impact the fees your practice charges for its services.

Checklist for patient billing. This provides guidance to medical practices about introducing patient billing and increasing medical fees.

Registering bank account details with Medicare. This information will assist with a smooth transition to patient billing for practices that cannot continue to bulk bill patients as a result of the Government’s indexation freeze.

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