Claiming a Refund

If you visit a doctor outside the University and pay the doctor's fee up front, or have been sent by a doctor for tests or x-rays at a facility outside the University, you will want to claim a refund for fees already paid. To get a refund for doctor's fees and/or prescription medication you will need to submit a claim form and original receipts to your OSHC provider. It is always a good idea to make copies of your original receipts to keep in your records, before sending them to the insurance provider.

If your cover is with OSHC Worldcare there are many options for claiming a refund. OSHC Worldcare claim forms are available at the International Student Centre. You can make a cash claim on campus or claim online through the OSHC Worldcare web site.

Cash Claims On Campus

OSHC Worldcare provides on campus support and cash claims during teaching semesters. They are available in the International Student Centre at the North Terrace Campus at the following times:

Tuesday: 10:30am to 1:00pm
Wednesday: 10:00am to 2:00pm
Friday: 9:30am to 12:00pm.

There are four easy steps to make a cash claim:

Step 1: Bring your medical receipts to the OSHC Representative on campus
Step 2: Receive vouchers for your claims, up to the value of AUD$75
(claims over this amount will be processed and you can choose to be reimbursed direct to your bank account or you can elect to receive a cheque posted to your mailing address)
Step 3: Take your vouchers to the Australia Post outlet on campus or any Australia Post outlet with giroPOST facilities
Step 4: Receive cash for your claims

If you have arranged health cover with another insurance provider, please contact them directly for claim options.

Remember that you may not receive a refund for the entire amount that you paid - claims are assessed according to the details of your policy benefits. All standard OSHC policies will cover 100% of the 'scheduled' fee for medical services provided by doctors, pathology, and x-rays, however doctors are free to charge what they feel is reasonable for their services. The amount charged by the provider for medical services may be higher than the 'scheduled' fee. In this instance you will be required to pay the remaining gap. Refer to your health cover Policy Document for full details of your cover.

If you plan to lodge a claim for prescription medication, make sure that you understand the pharmaceutical benefits of your policy. Standard OSHC policies will require that you make a co-payment on prescription medicines - this amount is set by the Health Insurance Commission and is currently AUD $31.30. This means that you cannot claim for medicines costing $31.30 or less. For example, if you were prescribed three medications - one costs $18.50, the second costs $23.00, and the third costs $48.00 - you would only receive a $16.70 refund back from the insurance provider as the co-payment is applied to each separate item. Also note that under most OSHC policies, any medication that can be purchased over the counter without a prescription from a doctor will not be reimbursed.

Unpaid Accounts

If you did not pay your account to the doctor or other health provider but were given an invoice showing an amount due, you can still lodge a claim with OSHC Worldcare. You simply need to indicate on the claim form that the account has not been paid. Note that if you send an unpaid account to OSHC Worldcare, they will make payment directly to the health provider, not to you. If the health provider's fee is over the amount of your OSHC policy benefit, they may send you a bill for the remaining gap. It is your responsibility to pay the gap.