Most Australians are qualified for Medicare, which is the basis of the country’s health care system. With Medicare, some services may be covered. If you are seeking orthodontic or any dental service, you may want to know how you can use Medicare to lower costs.
How to Get a Medicare Card
Those who live in Australia, as well as Norfolk Island, can quickly get a Medicare card as long as specific requirements are met. You can enrol in Medicare if you are a citizen of the country or New Zealand.
Other conditions include:
- Being a permanent resident or at least applying for a permanent residency, or
- A temporary resident with a ministerial order
- A citizen or permanent resident of the Islands of Norfolk, Cocos, Christmas, and Lord Howe
To enrol, you need to bring your Medicare form and other documents to an accredited service centre. The Medicare card will be given to you once your application has been approved. Even if you do not get the card, you will almost immediately receive your Medicare number. Make sure that you provide the correct address, which is where the card will be mailed in about three to four weeks.
Can Medicare Help You with Your Chelmsford Dental Service?
Chelmsford Dental offers different services to help with your teeth and overall oral health. For instance, we have teeth grinding bite splints and mouthguards for those who may have obstructive sleep apnoea. We also offer dental fillings, fissure sealing, and root canal treatments.
When you get to the office for an initial consultation, you will know what services you require. Therefore, you can plan how you will work out your budget on the dental service you need.
Unfortunately, most examinations and treatments are not covered by Medicare. For patients aged two to 17 years old, however, they may be covered by the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS). Eligibility requirements for CDBS include:
- Meeting the Medicare criteria
- Receiving payments from the government (can be the patient or the family)
- Must be at least a day of the age requirement (e.g. two years and one day old)
Covered services for eligible patients under the CDBS are the following:
- Dental X-rays
- Check-ups
- Fillings
- Root canals
- Fissure sealing
- Extractions
- Dentures
Orthodontic work is not covered. Also, patients are not allowed to use CBDS to pay for cosmetic dental services and those provided in a hospital. If you require a service other than to help your mouth function better, such as for chewing and speaking, it will not be covered by this government-funded system.
Other Medicare Information
The good thing about Medicare is that it can be used solely or in combination with additional health insurance from private companies. Therefore, if you have an existing Medicare account, you can use another private health insurance to save more money. It is also beneficial in such cases where you may have undergone several procedures, and Medicare does not cover some of them.
If you do not have your Medicare card yet and you need to have a Medicare-covered dental treatment, you can use its digital version. You can get it from the Express Plus Medicare app, but you need to link a myGov account to access the account online.
For patients who are under 15 years old, they can use their parent’s Medicare card. There is no need to re-enrol. However, those who are at least 15 years old can get their own card.