EPC Program via Medicare

When I saw the dental technician, he told me about a Medicare program that I had never heard of before. The rest of you Aussies might be interested in this information.
It's called the Enhanced Primary Care Program. Click on the Title of this blog to get more information.
From the web page:- Medicare dental items (Medicare items 85011-87777) are available for people with chronic conditions and complex care needs, on referral from a GP. Eligible patients can access up to $4,250 in Medicare benefits for dental services over two consecutive calendar years.
Wow! That amount would cover a lot of dental work!

After the dentist filled me in on this program, I went to the surgery and handed them the piece of paper with the name of the program on it. Yes, they knew all about it. They booked me in for a one hour appointment with the doctor and the nurse.

Last night, I was thinking that I had done the wrong thing and should have waited until I got home again, where all of my records could have been accessed. WRONG. When I went for the visit today, I found that having diabetes was sufficient to establish eligibility for the program.

The nurse weighed, measured, took BP and filled in a few gaps on the computer. The doctor then checked me over, asked a few questions and wrote me a referral to the dentist. And that's it. How simple could it be?! Medicare has kept this secret very well.

If you plan on taking up this opportunity for dental work of any sort, don't wait too long. This information comes from the Government page :-

"In line with its election commitment, the Government planned to close the Medicare chronic disease dental scheme to all patients by 1 July 2008, and to re-direct the savings to its new dental programs (Commonwealth Dental Health Program and Medicare Teen Dental Plan). However, on 19 June 2008, the Senate blocked the scheme’s closure. On 16 September 2008, the Senate blocked the Government’s second attempt to close the scheme ...........
It remains the Government's intention to close the scheme in order to make funding available for its new dental programs, and the Government will continue to negotiate with the Senate in an effort to achieve this."

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