Eftpos Medicare on the cards: Hockey
Author: Julian Bajkowski
Date: 25/07/2006
The Financial Review, Page: 10
[copied as fair us]
It has taken more than 20 years, but by July next year it could be
possible to claim Medicare refunds over the counter at doctors'
surgeries using Eftpos with an existing Medicare magnetic strip card.
Human Services Minister Joe Hockey said during a speech to the Committee
for Economic Development of Australia yesterday that the plan was
intended to act as a bridging mechanism until banks, credit card
companies, doctors and pharmacists introduced smartcard-ready terminals
over the next three years.
The pay-off would be that millions of people would not have to queue at
Medicare offices.
The scheme, which is still to be approved by the cabinet, would be
funded separately from the government's $1.1 billion welfare smartcard.
The smartcard is slated for introduction between 2008 and 2011.
"If we do go ahead with an Eftpos solution, we will move very fast," Mr
Hockey said.
PricewaterhouseCoopers had been commissioned to investigate the
viability of the proposal, including an estimate that many existing
Medicare cards would be able to be read by Eftpos card readers.
A determination was expected within four weeks.
The potential transaction revenue for banks, which collectively own the
Eftpos network, is substantial.
In the last financial year, there were $10 billion worth of Medicare
refunds, a process that generated 17 million individual cheques.
Banks already vying for the potential business are understood to include
the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which has the largest number of
Eftpos terminals, and the National Australia Bank, which owns the Health
Industry Claims and Payment Services used by the private health
insurance industry.
However, one question that banks want answered before bidding for the
scheme is how it will be received by doctors, particularly general
practitioners.
Australian Medical Association technology spokesman Peter Garcia-Webb
said that his organisation favoured faster processing of Medicare claims
so that neither doctors nor claimants were left out of pocket for any
length of time.
Mr Hockey said claiming for Medicare refunds through an Eftpos-driven
system would be advantageous for doctors because it would greatly
expedite the process of refunding doctors for bulk-billed consultations.
Mr Hockey has previously expressed disappointment with bank proposals
for the smartcard. However, relations between the minister and the
banking community appear to have been repaired.
"I think some of the banks have reacted well . . . it took a little
prodding, with an electric prod occasionally," Mr Hockey told the committee.
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