Money

Extra help with medical costs - A Guide for Carers

Prescription Subsidy Scheme

This subsidy aims to reduce the cost of medicine by removing the $5 prescription cost after 20 items.

To get this subsidy, the person needs to have paid for 20 new prescription medicine items from 1 February each year. Once a person has paid for 20 items, they do not have to pay any more prescription costs for the rest of that year (until 1 February the following year).

The person can reach 20 prescription items by including prescription items for the person’s partner and dependent children aged 14 to 18 years. Because prescriptions for children under 13 are free, they don’t count towards the 20-item total. The pharmacist can link all family members in the system.

Any pharmacy can check records to see how many prescriptions someone has already paid for.

Some medicines may still carry a cost even with a Prescription Subsidy if they are not funded by the government. The pharmacist can advise about any extra costs.

To find out more

Community Services Card

This card can help with the costs of healthcare. It helps the card holder and their family to pay less for some health services and prescriptions.

The Community Services Card can reduce the cost of:

  • visits to people’s regular health practitioner, e.g. a doctor or nurse, if they are enrolled at that practice (for the person and their dependent children aged 14–17)
  • ACC visits to a general practice (e.g. a doctor or nurse) if the person is injured. The person doesn’t need to be enrolled at the practice
  • prescription fees
  • fees for after-hours health practitioner visits
  • glasses for children under 16
  • emergency dental care provided by hospitals and approved dental contractors (ask the dental provider if they are an approved contractor)
  • travel and accommodation for treatment at a public hospital the person has been referred to outside the area where they live (see Help getting around)
  • home help (Help at home after an injury).

The card can also be used for dependent children aged under 18 years.

Getting this card depends on several requirements including how much a person and their partner earn.

To find out more

High Use Health Card

This card helps a person with some medical costs (such as doctor’s visits and prescription costs) if they have ongoing health problems that mean they often visit the doctor.

This card may be used to reduce the costs of:

  • prescription fees
  • fees for after-hours general practice visits
  • visits to a general practice where the person is not enrolled (the person needs to check with the general practice first).

To get this card, the person needs to have made 12 or more visits to a doctor or nurse at the general practice where they are enrolled, in the previous 12 months. Getting the card does not depend on how much the person earns. The card can only be used by the cardholder and does not give benefits to the rest of the family. The general practitioner will make the application for the card on the person’s behalf.

If someone already has a Community Services Card, they don’t need to apply for a High Use Health Card because the discounts relating to medical costs are the same. However, for people with a High Use Health Card, there is an advantage in also having a Community Services Card because that card enables enrolled patients to get lower cost fees and also gives subsidies to dependent family members.

To find out more

Previous page | Next page