When Medicare refunds end up 'somewhere'

I then outlined the case of the missing refund, attached a copy of the receipt stating it had been paid, and asked for the matter to be rectified.

A second after hitting send, it bounced back with the message that the address wasn’t recognised. WTF?? More steam out the ears - was it an old address or did it only apply in some other state? Maybe … back online again searching all the Medicare links and options through MyGov, I finally found one for complaints, so let’s try that!

Again there were numerous options for what the complaint might entail but finally I managed to type a message about the missing refund and asked for it to be paid. I also included the suggestion that they could save everyone a lot of bother if they just provided a genuine contact email address.

They did give me a feedback number a few days ago but at the time of writing, there has been no response.

The Albanese Labor Government made a big fanfare announcing its $6.1 billion “Strengthening Medicare reforms” last October, claiming it was “the largest investment in bulk billing in Medicare’s 40-year history.”

According to Health Minister Mark Butler, Australians saved an estimated $15 million in GP gap fees in November and December, “helping to ease the cost-of-living pressures on household budgets.”

Well, Mr Butler finding a GP that bulk bills in our neck of the woods which also happens to be one of Australia’s major tourism hot spots, is a bit like my opening analogy of winning Lotto. And ours have actually increased their fees since your bulk-billing largesse.

Might I be so bold as to suggest you could improve services by making the Medicare call centre actually answer calls. Or call back when they can. Or just include a contact email that actually works in each state and territory. How hard can that be?

On a related topic of online banking anomalies and service providers, I recently had a similar experience when attempting to renew my Optus mobile phone account online.

After linking with our bank account, I clicked submit and received a message back saying the payment couldn’t be processed because of “activity” on the account.

Again, what the ….? So I logged into the account and sure enough the sizeable payment had actually been deducted…

Call Optus, go through an identity check and finally get to speak to a foreign lady who has difficulty understanding me, and likewise, me her. But finally she grasps the concept that I’m claiming to have been charged for a service that hasn’t actually been renewed.