We often dream of a world in which one day, we might stumble upon a large sum of cash.
But what if that dream could become a reality?
The federal government revealed on Friday that over $241 million in unclaimed Medicare benefits is sitting in limbo, waiting to be accessed.
Government Service Minister Bill Shorten said a share of that money is owed to more than 930,000 Australians who haven’t provided Medicare with their current bank details.
How much money could you get from Medicare?
The amount of unclaimed Medicare benefits owed was “not short change”, Shorten said.
“For some people, I think the average that’s owed is about $260, which is just great,” he said.
“There’s thousands of people who are owed tens of thousands of dollars.”
Shorten said that young people were missing out more than any other age group.
“There are about 224,000 Gen Z-ers who are owed some money,” he said.
Government Services Minister Bill Shorten said the amount of unclaimed Medicare benefits owed was “not short change”. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
How to check if Medicare owes you money
The process to claim any Medicare benefits owed to you is quick and easy, Shorten said.
“It’s not that hard to get,” he said.
“You’ve just got to sort of prioritise it for about ten minutes of your life.”
All you need to do is:
- Log in to your myGov account via the website or app
- Check your myGov account is linked to Medicare
- Make sure your bank details are up-to-date
Any money you’re owed will be paid into your bank account within three days, Shorten said.
He warned the public to be wary of any scammers seeking to take advantage of the situation.
“We won’t be sending you a link to click and open,” Shorten said.
“Do not click a link.”
Medicare reforms needed to engage migrant and refugee communities
In late 2023, the federal government invested $2.5 million to establish the Australian Multicultural Health Collaborative.
The money was awarded to the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia to engage culturally and linguistically diverse communities, so they could have their say on Medicare reforms.
A key focus of the four-year program is to address systemic racism and health inequity, while, at the same time, building trust between those communities and government.
A lack of proper communication and in-language information was , according to Rita Prasad-Ildes, managing director of the social enterprise multicultural health organisation World Wellness Group.
“When it comes to these unclaimed Medicare benefits, where the myGov app is crucial to all of that, it’s not surprising [people are owed money],” she told SBS News.
Prasad-Ildes said utilising specialist groups that focus on multicultural Australia was essential.
“The things that have always worked best in terms of increasing uptake in multicultural communities is resourcing people who are in these health worker navigation roles,” she said.
“Information in languages other than English is obviously fairly crucial, but it’s much more than that because it’s actually navigating your way through a complex system.
“Just having a fact sheet and telling people about it isn’t enough, because a lot of people probably won’t understand the whole system of the unclaimed Medicare benefits and how they can access that … particularly if they haven’t even got the myGov app.”
