Medicare Online (formerly HIC Online)
Changes to assignment of benefit – effective from 1 July 2008
Up until 30 June 2008, providers who were using Medicare Online for Medicare and Veterans’ Affairs claiming were obligated to retain a copy of each assignment of benefit form for a period of two years.
From 1 July 2008:
- providers using Medicare Online will no longer have to retain a copy of the assignment of benefit form
- the assignment of benefit form used by providers no longer needs to be approved by Medicare Australia’s Chief Executive Officer. Note: The form must be compliant with the guidelines issued in the Client Adaptor Adopter Guide.
The terms and conditions of the contract have been amended to reflect this change. The new contract is available on the Medicare Australia website at register for online business page.
Important: Providers who have an existing contract are not required to sign a new contract to gain benefit from the changed terms and conditions. Continued use of Medicare Online claiming will be deemed to be acceptance of the new terms and conditions.
Destruction of assignment of benefit documents
From 1 July 2008, providers using Medicare Online are able to destroy copies of assignment of benefit forms currently stored at their practice.
Should Medicare Australia need to confirm that the service was provided to a patient, we will seek alternative evidence from the service provider that the service was provided. The evidence of service may be demonstrated through records such as electronic billing information, notes in practice software appointment records and, if the practice chooses to retain them, the copy of the assignment of benefit form.
The legislative requirements for the assignment of benefit remain unchanged. That is:
- an agreement must be made between the patient (assignor) and the provider for the assignment of benefit
- the agreement is ‘evidenced’ through the use of the assignment of benefit form
- the patient is required to sign the form
- a copy of the agreement must be provided to the patient.
Veterans’ Affairs online claims paperwork submission requirements
Providers using online claiming software that is not DVA paperless enabled (Client Adaptor Release 4 and prior) need to send the paperwork accompanying DVA claims to Medicare Australia.
Providers can contact their software vendor, or the Veterans' Affairs Processing enquiries line (below) to confirm the online claiming type and if paperwork should be submitted with their DVA claims.
For further information, please telephone Medicare Australia’s provider hotline on 132 150.
For Veterans’ Affairs related enquiries please contact Veterans’ Affairs Processing on 1300 550 017.
Medicare Online (previously called HIC Online) lets practices lodge Medicare claims via the internet. It can be used to process bulk bill and patient claims, as well as Department of Veterans’ Affairs and Australian Childhood Immunisation Register information. Introduced in 2002, it is currently used by over 7,100 practices across Australia to process over 50% of all bulk bill transactions (excluding pathology).
Medicare Online cuts paperwork and speeds up payment times. For bulk billed services, it eliminates batching and payments can be deposited directly into the health care provider’s nominated bank account within two-three working days.
It also makes it easier for practices to help patients claim their Medicare rebate on-the-spot. Patients can receive their rebate electronically within two-three working days by providing their bank account details to Medicare Australia, or their practice.
Did you know… if you already have Medicare Online, it’s easy to ‘switch on’ patient claiming. To find out more, contact your software vendor or Medicare Australia.
Did you know… practices using Medicare Online for patient claiming don’t have to ask for bank details directly. Patients can register their bank details with Medicare Australia instead and still claim on-the-spot.
Key features
- Can be used for patient and bulk bill claims
- Integrated with practice management software
- Requires internet connection, PC and practice management software
- No batching required
- Payments to practitioners and patients within two-three working days via EFT, longer for cheque payments
- Secure communication using PKI
Further information
- Medicare Online factsheets
- Also consider Medicare Easyclaim
- How Medicare Online compares with other claiming channels
- Find out which software packages offer Medicare Online
- Find out about the support package for electronic Medicare claiming.
Next steps
Call Medicare Australia on 1800 700 199 or talk to your software vendor.
- Register for Medicare Online
Last updated: 15 September, 2008