OSHCstudents – If you’re seeking health insurance for an Australian visa and want to understand how your coverage addresses medical and pharmacy expenses, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Here are explanations about these two terms.
1. What is MBS?
The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) is a list of medical services (e.g. a standard consultation with a GP or having surgery in a hospital) subsided by the Australian Government with a fee (known as a ‘Schedule fee’) payable for each item.
The Schedule fee is the amount the government considers appropriate for one of these services and determines the amount that Australians receive when they claim a medical service through Medicare.
2. What is PBS?
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Schedule lists all of the medicines available to be dispensed to patients at a Government-subsidised price. The Schedule is part of the wider Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme managed by the Department of Health and administered by Services Australia.
This schedule is now online and updated monthly. This online searchable version contains:
- All of the drugs listed on the PBS Information on the conditions of use for the prescribing of PBS medicines
- Detailed consumer information for medicines that have been prescribed by your doctor or dentist;
- What you can expect to pay for medicines.
If you are international student, a foreigner arriving in Australia, or Australian citizen traveling abroad looking for OSHC, OVHC, travel insurance, please contact Annalink team at email: info@oshcstudents.com and our partners for further information and assistance.
OSHCstudents Team
