Medicare Rebate

Australians continue to have access to highly specialised fertility treatments, thanks to support from the Federal Government and the Australian community. The majority of fertility treatment costs are covered by Medicare, and if you have private health insurance your costs may be further reduced.

The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) provides a rebate for out-of-pocket costs for out-of-hospital services (including GP and specialist attendances). The Extended Medicare Safety Net (EMSN) provides an additional rebate for those whose costs go over an annual threshold.

The EMSN provides a capped rebate for IVF-related treatment once an annual threshold has been reached. Your Medicare Safety Net entitlement begins at the start of each calendar year, and once you’ve reached the threshold, Medicare will rebate a proportion of your upfront payment for most medical services where you were not admitted to a hospital.

As well as IVF, most assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments receive some level of Medicare rebate, including intrauterine insemination (IUI), frozen embryo transfer and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Ovulation induction only receives a rebate when it involves an insemination procedure. These rebates are not means tested and are available to all holders of a current Medicare card. There are no limits to the amount you can claim.

What is not included

The Medicare Safety Net entitlement does not include hospital/day surgery related services, such as egg collection and/or embryo transfer – and it does not reimburse for items without a Medicare item number, such as testicular biopsy.

The cost of some drugs, cycle monitoring outside of our clinics and cryo storage does not receive a Medicare rebate. This is also true for day hospital procedures – although you may be able to claim the cost of the anaesthetist from Medicare or your private health fund.

Referrals

To claim the Medicare rebate, you need a current referral from your GP (valid for 12 months) or specialist gynaecologist/obstetrician (valid for three months). Download our referral form below.

Medicare Electronic Claiming

Melbourne IVF will take you through the process of setting up Medicare Electronic Claiming, which is the fastest and easiest way to claim your treatment cycle rebate. We will lodge your claim within 48 to 72 hours after your embryo transfer, and your Medicare rebate will be paid into your nominated bank account within three to five days of your claim being lodged. This saves you time, and ensures you get the rebate as quickly as possible.

If you do not want to register your bank details with Medicare, but would like to take part in Medicare Electronic Claiming, we will lodge your claim on your behalf and you will receive a cheque at the postal address you have registered with Medicare. This can take up to 14 working days.

We will continue to send you an itemised invoice and if you have not registered for Medicare Electronic Claiming, you will need to take this to a Medicare office to claim your rebate.

For more information, and to register for online claiming, visit Medicare
Find out more about fertility treatment costs or claiming Medicare