Medicare on Line?

Went to have a look at the Medicare site today just to see if there was anything new there and lo and behold there was. Lots of new pages specially modified for an end of financial year launch by the look of them.

Some new services seem to be available on line. Following registration a person can actually access quite a few services on line.

I have no idea whether people will welcome this service or not. For someone in a situation where they would have to drive a fair distance to access a Medicare office and then actually spend loads of time waiting in a queue for some simple service, this will prove to be a boon.

I suspect that like Centrelink before it, Medicare Australia has learnt that the cost of an on line transaction is substantially cheaper than to use the post and other facilities.

So if you want to save the government money and have some convenience from your own home then sign up.

If you want to keep more public servants at work and actually spend less time on your computer then you may have some issues to consider.

The basic rule of 'caveat emptor' still applies - the government never seems to give anything away unless it can offset the costs somewhere else, so I suggest that before anyone signs up, they also consider what if any 'traps' the government has set for the unwary player.

If you currently get a service from Medicare through the post then I suspect you will have to give it up to get the on line service.

I will consider my options very carefully before I subscribe to any new "freebie."

Then again I used to work for government so I have a right to be suspicious!