Do you know if you are qualified for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card?

This article will give you all the information you need. But before that, let me tell you the purpose and benefits of getting a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.

The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card assists eligible people who have reached the qualifying age for Age Pension with certain health and prescription costs.

This is what the sample card looks like:

Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders may benefit from:

• medicines listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) at the concessional rate, and once they reach the PBS safety net, will usually* be supplied with further PBS prescriptions without charge for the remainder of the calendar year;
• bulk-billed GP appointments (at the discretion of the doctor);
• reduced out-of-hospital medical expenses above a concessional threshold of the Extended Medicare Safety Net;
• Energy Supplement.

State / territory and local governments and some private providers may offer some additional health, household, transport, education and recreation concessions.

*There are certain instances where this does not apply. Please refer to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme website for more information.

Now that we know the purpose and benefits of Commonwealth Seniors Health Cards. Let us check if you are qualified to get one.

To qualify for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card a person must:

• have reached the qualifying age for Age Pension (refer to the Department of Human Services website for the current qualifying age);
• be an Australian citizen, a holder of a permanent visa, or a Special Category Visa holder and have been in Australia for a period of, or periods totalling 104 weeks;
• reside in Australia;
• not be receiving a social security pension or benefit, a Department of Veterans’ Affairs service pension;

meet the requirements of an annual income test based on adjusted taxable income plus deemed income from account-based income streams (refer to the Services Australia website for current income thresholds).

Now, this is where we come in. Pension Solutions provides administrative support for applications like these. We know that engaging with any large organization can seem daunting and stressful, so that’s where we can help. Get in touch with us by submitting your contact info thru our website or call 1300 025 521 between 8:00AM-6:30PM Monday through Friday.

By the way, you may also want to take note of these before sending an application to avoid getting your application cancelled or even if you already have one because if any of these circumstances happen they can put a stop to your Commonwealth Seniors Health Card anytime.

You must tell them if any of the following occurs:

• your personal circumstances change
• you change your address
• your income changes
• you return to work
• you don’t have to lodge a tax return
• your care arrangements change
• you are leaving Australia.

The easiest way to tell them about changes is through their self service options.

You need to do both of the following:

• tell them within 14 days of the change
• make sure your details are up to date in myGov.

It’s never too late to report a change.

What happens if you don’t tell them:

If you don’t tell them about changes in your life, they may pay you too much. If this happens you’ll have to pay the money back, plus a fee.

If you deliberately don’t tell them about changes, they could charge you with fraud.

If you have further queries again you can get in touch with us by submitting your contact info thru our website or call 1300 025 521 between 8:00AM-6:30PM Monday through Friday.