How to claim your slice of $260 million in unpaid Medicare refunds

More than a quarter of a billion dollars in Medicare refunds are sitting untouched, ready for Australians to claim.

Fortunately, there’s an easy fix for the cash to land back in your pocket much sooner than you might think.

If you’ve ever been to a GP or specialist’s clinic and used your Medicare card you could be owed money from the government. Nationally, there’s more than $260 million owed to 960,000 patients.

Even on a state-by-state basis, the numbers are staggering, with $81 million owed in NSW, $64 million to Victorians, $51 million to Queenslanders, $30 million in Western Australia and $19 million in South Australia.

“You go to the doctor, you hand over your card and then you might not check what happens next,” Services Australia community information officer Justin Bott said.

Failing to follow-up is what could be costing patients refunds they’re entitled to.

“The average is about $265 or so … there are a few people that are over $10,000,” Bott said.

The oversight happens when you don’t make sure Medicare has your most up-to-date bank details, for instance when you’ve changed banks or closed an account.

Australians aged 18 to 25 are the biggest group missing out so it pays to check.

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“It’s definitely not something I would think about when I’m rushing around,” student Rosie Gallagher said.

All it takes is logging in to MyGov and heading to your Medicare account to check everything is correct.

Once you’ve changed your bank details, the update will register with Medicare automatically and if you’re owed money, the cash should show up in your account within three days.

“It might not be you, but maybe it’s your child, your grandchild that has that money owing, get them to check as well, because again, what a great present to find that money being paid to them,” Bott said.

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