Medicare Safety Net

The Medicare Safety Net offers additional financial support for individuals with high medical and health expenses. 

Each Medicare Card comes with a pre-set Safety Net threshold. Once your out-of-pocket costs exceed this threshold each calendar year, Medicare increases your rebate for each medical and health appointment, reducing the cost of visits to doctors, specialists, psychologists, and other health professionals.

Note that only medical and health expenses you pay for in the community count towards your safety net. Health costs you pay for in-hospital do not count towards your safety net. 

If you are single and have no dependents, you are automatically registered for the Safety Net and do not need to do anything else.  

If you’re part of a family or couple, you need to register as a family to combine your costs. This means you’re more likely to reach the thresholds sooner. Even if all family members are on the same Medicare card, you’ll still need to register. You only need to register once.

Learn more and register here through Services Australia.