Hi All,
Are you able to claim an iron infusion via Medicare? My GP said you can’t. I called another GP and apprently you can. Does this depend on the clinic. I got the invoice can I just put a claim through Medicare my self? Anyone know the item number?
Nah it’s not, I googled it and saw online a lot place give you a $80 back . But my GP won’t do it. I was going to try claim it as I have an invoice
he just has to put an item number on it, it doesnt affect his income. ask your gp why they wont do it?
Depends if the practice is registered with Medicare for this service and how much they charge.
For example if this procedure was carried out in a public hospital under a Doctors referral it might have been fully covered by Medicare. The same doesnt necessarily apply for a private practice
Again when you are referred to a specialist, not all specialists charge the same fee, but the medicare claim wont change from one to another.
So best to ensure your GP is referring you to a place that is either covered by Medicare in part or in full or a speciallist - who has a minimal charge and hence gap.
Regardless of where and who performs the procedure, the first step to be able to claim is to have a corresponding MBS item number. If there’s no item number, it can’t be claimed.
As in Ferinject infusion?
I've received this from my GP and was able to claim back the Medicare portion of the charge, using the electronic cliam system.
2 units administered (oral supplements (pill/liquid) don't work for me) in my case that took ~ 15-20mins ea. with my GP administering it himself, on a quieter early Saturday morning timeslot.
Yep got the Ferinject infusion this morning. Weird how some can claim and others can’t
The coverage of iron infusion costs under Medicare may depend on factors such as the severity of the patient's iron deficiency or anemia, as well as whether the patient has tried other treatments first (e.g., oral iron supplements).
If there is no item number on the invoice then you cannot claim it.
Check here: http://www.mbsonline.gov.au
If you find you are eligible then you can ask the doctor, if you just claim it based on an item number you've found you are likely committing fraud, even though that is not your intention.
https://www.nps.org.au/radar/articles/ferric-carboxymaltose-…
Nah my GP said you can’t , just asking as I found others can
Tried all tablets and liquids for months. But body not absorbing it well enough.
Have you been tested for coeliac antibodies? One symptom is the incapacity to absorb or maintain iron despite taking it. The reason is that the villi in the small intestine get damaged so they cannot absorb nutrients properly. It's a simple blood test.
My GP's clinic runs an iron infusion day once a fortnight and most of the cost is claimable on Medicare.
There is no item number for infusion, but is for Ferinject ;)
Health Minister Greg Hunter was advised of this issue (ie The medicine is supported on the PBS but not the means of delivery in general practice) in Dec 2021 by Dr Andrew Robert Jackson, but did nothing with it :/
The way around it for most GPs is threefold:
- Charge a standard Consultation (~$65 before Medicare rebate of approx $35)
- Charge a long Consultation for Infusion (~$150 before Medicare rebate of approx $75)
- Purchase of Material (Ferinject - Approx $45 if you have Medicare and $170 if no Medicare)
But due to the ambiguity in the Medicare Benefit Schedule around the procedure, some GPs prefer NOT to offer the service due to risk of medicare audit :/
Get your stomach pH right (below 3) so that iron can start being absorbed naturally and avoid the whole issue :P
Thank you
Gregory Andrew Hunt is an Australian former politician who was the Minister for Health between January 2017 and May 2022. He was a Liberal Party member of the House of Representatives between November 2001 and 2022, representing the Division of Flinders in Victoria.
…and has zero medical qualifications just to be clear. :)
…and has zero medical qualifications just to be clear. :)
Just to be clearer, the current Minister of Health is Mark Butler.
Does he have any medical qualifications?
Does he have any qualifications?
Has he ever had a real job at all?
Mine gets fully covered through public hospital system. No out of pocket fee at all and nothing to claim as all done in hospital. I'd guess it's dependant on if its been arranged through a GP or if it was self arranged. Maybe that's why different answers. Why did you get an iron infusion and not tablets?
Tried all the tablets and liquids and no luck. My body is difficult
Nah, just means your stomach pH is borked, pretty easy to fix though!
Biggest stomach pH disrupter is fibre :/
Experiment time:
- buy some pH strips from the chemist, buy some coke, buy some Metamucil
- pour coke in cup, measure pH with strip
- add Metamucil to coke, measure pH with strip
- pour new coke in cup, measure pH with strip
- add animal products (meat, fat, butter, etc) to coke, measure pH with strip
- compare what the pH did with each addition ;)
Thank u
Or ask your GP for a referral to a specialist.
You know, those people who spend over a decade at university and post-graduate work to not know as much as a random poster on a bargain site…..
@ChrisLevo: Specialist will put you on PPIs, which actually INCREASE the pH of your stomach, making the absorption issues far worse ;)
Will need iron infusions for life after seeing a "Specialist" (yep, been there, done that, never again thanks)
Try the experiment above, then tell me why these "Specialist" have no clue in how stomach acid works :P
No medical "Specialist" will ever address the "root cause" of an issue, just only ever treat symptoms :/
All their education provides is "take X for Y symptom", ask any "Specialist" and the only answer you get is pharmaceutical/surgical :/
Ask a carpenter and the only answer you get is a hammer ;)
Ask OZB a get people that have been down the exact same path and have actually permanently resolved the issue ;)
@7ekn00: @7ekn00
No medical "Specialist" will ever address the "root cause" of an issue, just only ever treat symptoms :/
A cured patient is a lost customer. Not good for business. And loss of benefits (holidays, overseas conferences, etc) from big pharma because no more drugs sold
@7ekn00: If only stomach pH was the issue for everyone. For me the deficiencies is from losing most of my duodenum. Stomach pH alone won't solve malabsorption.
@7ekn00: I know a few ppl who have issues due to low stomach acid (as diagnosed by naturopaths) which was previously misdiagnosed as high stomach acid (by GPs/ENTs) & they were prescribed PPIs which lowered it even further & caused even more problems.
But you're saying the opposite ??
@[Deactivated]: The way the pH scale works is that lower the pH the more acidic, the higher the pH the less acidic (more basic) …
Proton Pump Inhibitors prevent the release of stomach acid, which INCREASES pH (making the stomach LESS acidic) …
Human stomach pH should be 1.5 - 2.0 (very acidic): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7684463/
PPIs, fibre, carbs, etc mean most humans in the western world run stomach pH's of 3 - 4, which causes a drastic reduction in iron absorption (not just iron, it affects B12 and D3 also): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448204/
The other interesting thing is that Doctors prescribe PPIs for "reflux" aka GORD, but "reflux" actually happens when the stomach pH INCREASES (the stomach sphincter contracts with LOW pH and relaxes with HIGHER pH - so a PPI while initially helping because it reduces acid volume, will be counter productive in the long run as it relaxes the stomach sphincter even more!): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1418956/
@7ekn00: OK - we're on the same page.
Yes, they were both diagnosed with GERD & take HCL to increase stomach acid.
What did you do to fix it?
@[Deactivated]: Fasted for 3 days (to empty and heal stomach) and went exclusively carnivore, eating once per day …
Animal products do not increase the pH of the stomach (keeping it low, keeping absorption normal and keeping the sphincter closed - so no more reflux - no more iron deficiency). The only time reflux came back in the last 6 years was once eating a big bowl of pasta :/
@7ekn00: WOW - that must take a heap of will power. How do you decide which meal to have, as in what time or does it vary?
It's weird how many ppl are afflicted with this though & at different life stages. It impacted my FiL soon after he retired as he was no longer as active & ate more. My BFF was separated and then also lost her parents so she blames these stressors. It's like the proverbial kick in the guts!
I want to understand so explain this like you're 5
Iron is not absorbed through the stomach, it's in the small intestine, like most other nutrients.
@Lastchancetosee: Indeed, as the article linked above explains as to why the stomach pH acid matters as it's passed into the small intestine to absorb, pretty clear you never read the references ;)
Try and find a doctor that will help you find the cause if possible (unless you already know). An inability to absorb iron (and possibly other nutrients) can be a sign of an underlying issue that requires treatment. Eg. Crohn's will impact some peoples absorption of various nutrients. While medication won't cure and iron infusions may still be required, treating the disease will help the body absorb what it can and ofcourse treat the disease itself rather than let it progress invisibly.
Certain types of weight loss surgery such as gastric-bypass also causes iron deficiency.
Doctors don't treat the cause, just the symptoms ;)
Crohn's is just the symptoms of leaky gut (increase in gastrointestinal lining gap junctions - close the gap junctions and you can eliminate the symptoms of Crohn's)
They will never treat root causes, symptoms only!
@7ekn00: Not everyone with IBD has leaky gut. Where IBD is the cause of malabsorption, treat the ibd and better support the malabsorption.
Most people who get an iron infusion don't need it!
There's no item number for an iron infusion.
GPs can bill you privately and give you an invoice with an attendance item number. In this case, you pay the total amount (?$150 or more) and get either $40 or $80 back from Medicare
Some GPs (dodgily) charge you a lower amount and claim an item number from Medicare as a bulk billing service.
Your GP was probably in the latter group.
I paid 180, I wanted to try and claim it via Medicare see if I can get anything back, I tried to but I don’t know item number
You can check Medicare under MyGov to see if your visit shows up.
You can't claim it if there is no item number on your receipt. They compare the questions they ask you to the uploaded evidence.
Thank you is what it is, thought I’ll try
Thanks everyone, I’ll leave it be
Shouldn't this be on the invoice? Call your doctor for the item number. (If there's no number, then it's not covered).