{"id":101538,"date":"2025-02-19T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=101538"},"modified":"2025-02-19T13:37:46","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T02:37:46","slug":"260-on-average-10k-for-some-1-million-aussies-missing-out-on-medicare-cash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/260-on-average-10k-for-some-1-million-aussies-missing-out-on-medicare-cash\/","title":{"rendered":"$260 on Average, $10K for Some: 1 Million Aussies Missing Out on Medicare Cash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

About one million Australians<\/strong> could be missing out on money that\u2019s rightfully theirs, with $247 million in unclaimed Medicare benefits<\/strong> waiting to be collected. The reason? Outdated or missing bank details<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Services Australia<\/strong>, checking and updating your details takes less than a minute<\/strong>, and once corrected, you could receive your owed payments within three days<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Is Owed This Money?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Medicare benefits<\/a> are owed to Australians of all ages, but the biggest chunk\u2014around $54 million<\/strong>\u2014is sitting unclaimed by people aged 18 to 24<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, the government revealed that the average unclaimed benefit<\/strong> was about $260<\/strong>, though some individuals are owed more than $10,000<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if you\u2019re not personally owed money, someone you know might be. Services Australia is urging Australians to spread the word<\/strong> so that more people can reclaim what belongs to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Check If You Have Unclaimed Medicare Benefits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Getting your money is straightforward. You just need to ensure your bank details are registered with Medicare. Here\u2019s how to check:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Log into your myGov account<\/a><\/strong> and access your linked Medicare online account.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Go to \u2018My details\u2019<\/strong>, then select \u2018View and edit my details\u2019<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Navigate to \u2018Bank details\u2019<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. If needed, select \u2018Edit\u2019<\/strong> to update your details.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019ve never provided bank details before, you\u2019ll need to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Sign in to myGov<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Go to \u2018Tasks and notifications\u2019<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Select \u2018Update your bank details\u2019<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Enter your details and click \u2018Save bank details\u2019<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      You can also update your details via the Medicare app<\/strong>, by visiting a Services Australia centre<\/a><\/strong>, or by calling Medicare on 132 011<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      What Happens After You Update Your Details?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Once your details are corrected, Services Australia <\/strong>will process any outstanding Medicare benefits within three days<\/strong>. Any future benefits will also be automatically deposited<\/strong> into your registered account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This is an easy way to ensure you don\u2019t miss out on money that belongs to you. A quick check <\/strong>could mean a cash boost<\/strong> for you or someone you know\u2014so take a minute to update your details today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Millions of Australians are unknowingly sitting on unclaimed Medicare cash, with payouts ranging from small refunds to massive windfalls. A simple detail could be blocking the money from reaching their accounts. Some are owed just a little, while others have thousands waiting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":101546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-welfare","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101538"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101547,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101538\/revisions\/101547"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}