Major Medicare Changes Set to Impact Australians in 2025
A significant shift in Medicare access will take effect in 2025, limiting service hours for Australians seeking assistance.
Medicare, Australia, Services Australia, Healthcare, Government
Canberra: Big news for Australians! Service Australia just announced some changes to how we access Medicare starting January 2, 2025. Right now, you can call Medicare anytime, but that’s about to change.
From the new year, the hours will be cut back. You’ll only be able to reach them Monday to Friday from 7 am to 10 pm, and on weekends from 7 am to 7 pm. So, if you’re a night owl, you might need to adjust your schedule.
According to Services Australia, they’ve been looking at how the current system works. They found that not many people are calling after hours or on weekends. In fact, less than one percent of calls come in during those times!
They say this change will help them focus on other important tasks, like processing claims and answering calls on their other 24-hour lines. Good news is, you can still use their online services anytime you want.
This comes after reports in July showed that call wait times at Medicare and Centrelink were getting pretty long, with over 11 million calls going unanswered in just a year. So, it seems they’re trying to make things a bit more efficient.