FED:Rural area given better Medicare access

AAP General News (Australia)
12-22-2010
FED:Rural area given better Medicare access

SYDNEY, Dec 22 AAP - More remote and rural towns across Australia will now be able
to access enhanced Medicare services, the federal government says.

Minster for Human Services and Social Inclusion Tanya Plibersek said 60 new locations
- including Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory and Bourke in NSW - now had access
to Medicare services including teleclaiming and self-service computers.

Ms Plibersek said that it was part of the government's plan to ensure all Australians
could access Medicare and Centrelink services no matter where they lived.

In remote areas, Medicare sites have been located in Centreline offices.

The new sites would enable customers to use Medicare teleclaiming services to claim
rebates, register or update bank account details, order a new or duplicate Medicare card,
request a copy of the Medicare benefit tax statement and update personal details, the
minister said in a statement on Wednesday night.

The closest Medicare office to some of these towns can be hundreds of kilometres away.

AAP dmg/cdh

KEYWORD: MEDICARE

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