Are you aware of the savings available to subsequent cycles?

As the year draws to a close, Fertility Solutions would like to offer a friendly reminder to our patients that the Medicare Safety Net resets as of January 1st 2012. The changes to the safety net in 2010 has allowed patients to access greater Medicare rebates for some second and subsequent treatments. If you are considering treatment in the next few months, completing treatment before the 31st December will often be cheaper than waiting until January or February 2012.

To all our valued Patients,

At Fertility Solutions we are always looking for ways to save our patients money and reduce treatment costs. Keeping you informed regarding the Medicare Safety Net Rebate and Fertility Solutions annual fee revision is part of this process. Please read on:

What is the Medicare Safety Net?

The Medicare Safety Net provides families and individuals with financial assistance for high out-of-pocket costs for out-of-hospital Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) services. Once you meet a Medicare Safety Net threshold, you may be eligible for additional Medicare benefits for out-of-hospital MBS services for the rest of the calendar year. Also available is the PBS Safety Net if you and your family need a lot of medicines in any year.

What is an Extended Medicare Safety Net (EMSN) benefit cap?

An EMSN benefit cap is an upper limit on the amount of Medicare Safety Net benefit payable for an out-of-hospital MBS service. Not all Medicare items have an EMSN cap.
For more information about the EMSN benefit cap go to the Extended Medicare Safety Net fact sheet on the Department of Health and Ageing’s MBS Online website.

What are the benefits for me?

Once you reach a Medicare Safety Net threshold visiting a doctor or having tests may cost you less.

For example: if you reach a threshold and then visit your doctor who charges you $65.00 for a standard consultation, you will receive your standard Medicare benefit. You will also receive an extra refund, the amount varying according to your personal situation. An out-of-pocket cost is the difference between the Medicare benefit and what your doctor charges you.

SO NOW FOR THE IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

From the 31st December each year the amount that you have accumulated towards your Extended Medicare Safety Net resets to zero dollars and you have to start all over again and build this up until you are again eligible for extra Medicare Rebates. To capitalize on the Safety Net for the year and potentially receive up to an extra $1,000 rebate (the amount will depend upon your treatment), you may like to consider having further treatment before the end of December rather than waiting until January of next year. By having treatment in November or December you may be eligible for extra Medicare refunds if you have reached the safety net limit for this year. This could potentially mean that you receive an additional.

If you would like to know more about the Medicare Safety Net and what it means for you in relation to out of pocket treatment costs at Fertility Solutions, please call Medicare Nambour Office 5441 3159 and Bundaberg Office 4152 2844 help with any of your inquiries.

To maximise your Medicare rebates, all fertility treatments must be completed by 31st December each year, after this time a new Medicare Safety Net year commences.

Fertility Solutions Fee Review

Fertility Solutions reviews all treatment fees yearly in November in line with the Medicare reviews. This does not necessarily mean that there will be an increase across the board, however, any increases that do occur in treatment/medication costs will be phased in over a 2 month period. This transition time enables individuals/couples time to consider having another treatment before the price rise takes effect.

Please note, even though the new prices will come into effect as of December 2011 for new patients, any price changes will only be effective as of January 2012 to existing Fertility Solutions patients.

If you would like to discuss this further please contact Kim or Donna in accounts on 1300 FERTILITY (337 845) if we can assist with your individual circumstance. For more information on IVF costs, go here.