Surgical Assistant Billing Guide
4. Where To Send Invoices
Where you send your invoice depends on which billing method you choose (see How To Claim Fees for information about billing methods).
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If you bill the patient directly then you send your invoice directly to the patient.
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If you bill the private health fund directly using their Gap Cover scheme (some funds use proprietary names like Medicover and Medigap) then you need to send your invoice to the health fund concerned. Some Health funds have a dedicated mailing address for Gap Cover accounts. Other health funds allow you to fax your Gap Cover invoices to them. Most funds require a Batch Header document to accompany one or more Gap Cover invoice; Batch Headers are available in the health fund's Gap Cover pack and/or available for download from their website.
Please Note:Member health funds of the Australian Health Service Alliance (AHSA) all use the same batch header, which is available from the AHSA website. However, the invoices plus batch header are still sent to the individual health funds for processing.
If you use medical practice software that supports ECLIPSE you can submit your Gap Cover account electronically. However, some health funds are quite prone to rejecting your ECLIPSE online claim if they haven't yet received a claim from the surgeon (either via the surgeon using Gap Cover, or the patient submitting a claim for their rebate post-op). -
If the patient is covered by the DVA then you send the account to Medicare Australia in your capital city.
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If the patient is covered by workers' compensation then you must send the account to the workers' compensation insurer, not the patient. Some workers' compensation insurers allow you to submit your claim online; check with your local workers' compensation organisation if they have this facility.