Here's a list of Frequently Asked Questions about Bulk bill consent:
- Why did I get an SMS from Healthengine to approve bulk billing for my recent appointment at my practice?
- Why am I being asked to verify my identity?
- What does the consent form I'm being asked to approve look like?
- Why does my practice need this information?
- Does my consent need to be collected for every appointment I'm bulk billed for?
- What if I don't consent to my appointment being bulk billed?
- I don't want to click on the link, I am not sure about its legitimacy
Why did I get an SMS from Healthengine to approve bulk billing for my recent appointment at my practice?
Your practice has chosen to use Healthengine to provide you with the service of approving and submitting your consent digitally for your practice to bulk bill you for your recent appointment.
Less manual paperwork and emails for you to worry about!
Why am I being asked to verify my identity?
We require you to verify your identity to ensure that you're the correct recipient of this information, and the form itself contains private information relevant to a specific appointment and service/s provided.
This security measure helps protect your privacy and keep your healthcare information safe and confidential.
Please note that if you are failing to be verified, it may be possible that your details may have a mispelling, and you will need to contact the medical practice you had your consultation with in order to correct the error within your patient file.
You will find their contact details on the booking confirmation email you received at the time of the booking or their Healthengine profile.
What does the consent form I'm being asked to approve look like?
After you successfully verify your identity, confirming that you are the correct person to receive and view this private information, we direct you to the Assignment of Medicare Benefits form.
In order for your practice to receive the bulk billing benefit and provide you with their service at no cost to you, they need to collect your consent to do this.
This form contains your recent appointment details, the practitioner you had your appointment with, the MBS item numbers [Medicare Benefits Schedule - the services they provided you with], and the Medicare benefit amounts that the practice is bulk billing the appointment to Medicare for.
If you agree to these terms and want to provide your consent, please click the 'I agree' checkbox under the Agreement section and press 'Submit' to submit your approved form to the practice.
After pressing 'Submit', you'll be shown a copy of the approved form and will have the option to print the form; you can download the form via the print button. A copy of this approved form is attached to your patient record in the practice's software as a reference for Medicare.
The approved form looks like this:
Why does my practice need this information?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicare made a temporary allowance for practices to collect patient consent verbally in order to bulk bill their appointment.
Medicare is reviewing this temporary allowance, and it's expected to change in the near future, although the exact date hasn't been determined yet; this means practices will need your written consent, rather than verbal consent, in order to bulk bill your appointment.
Does my consent need to be collected for every appointment I'm bulk billed for?
Yes, Medicare requires your consent to have your appointment be bulk-billed at each individual appointment to ensure that you are making a conscious and informed decision on your healthcare.
This is where the SMS bulk bill request helps. By making this an online process, we remove the need for you to sign paperwork in person.
What if I don't consent to my appointment being bulk billed?
Each practice is autonomous in its billing, and bulk billing is at the discretion and eligibility of each practice. If you don't wish to consent to being bulk billed, you may be privately billed for the full cost of your appointment.
I don't want to click on the link, I am not sure about its legitimacy
If you have any concerns, we recommend reaching out to the medical practice directly to confirm if they raised a request for bulk bill consent with their Healthengine Practice Admin Portal.
For privacy reasons, we are unable to see what you have received on your mobile number.
Please reach out to the medical practice directly using the contact details located in their practice profile or alternatively in the booking confirmation email you received when you booked through Healthengine, and you can request them to organise the bulk bill consent in an alternative way.