Seniors’ 10-month wait
Resident: ‘All of our medical bills were building up’
WHEN Ian Jones applied for his Commonwealth Seniors Health Card last Christmas, he could have never have imagined the “despicable” difficulties that lay ahead.
A 10-month delivery wait for him and his wife was just the start of the trouble for the Toowoomba retiree.
“All of our medical bills were building up and we were paying the full price,” Mr Jones said. “My wife and I accumulated a hefty bill of $600 in medication.”
During this time Mr Jones meticulously saved the receipts of his purchases. He approached Centrelink with his refund claim when the card arrived in late September.
“They eventually refunded me,” Mr Jones said.
“However when I checked my bank account I realised I was still out of pocket.”
Mr Jones said he only knew they had overcharged him due to his prior experience with the healthcare scheme.
“I knew I used to only pay $10.73 for this medication - but now, after the refund, I had been charged $16.41 for the same generic pills,” he said.
Mr Jones has since received the money back into his account, though he is unsure which side the refund came from.
He is concerned this could happen to others, and is calling for quicker delivery times and greater transparency.
“It’s lucky I knew what things were worth,” he said.
“It just seems unfair to me that the most vulnerable people in society could be severely disadvantaged because of this.”
The Department of Human Services General Manager, Hank Jongen said the Centrelink team worked hard to process millions of claims a year quickly.
“Commonwealth Seniors Health Card claims can be complex and processing time frames can vary from person to person,” he said.
It was added that the team prioritised assessment for anyone experiencing hardship.