Equestrian Australia Members

Medicare is a Commonwealth Government programme that provides eligible Australian residents with free or low-cost medical and hospital care.

Medicare provides access to:

• Free treatment as public (Medicare) patient in public hospital
• Free or subsidised treatment by practitioners such as Doctors or specialists.

The medical benefits schedule (MBS) lists all treatments and Associated MBR relating to Medicare.

You can access the MBS at any time by Medicare’s website. Items commonly used by sports participants that are Medicare listed can include General Practitioners, surgeons and an anaesthetists.

The MBS lists a rebate amount for each Medicare Item.

Example: A short consultation with a Doctor = Medicare rebate of $15.36

However, doctors or specialists may charge more than the listed MBS amount.

The difference between was is charged and the MBS rebate is call the “Medicare Gap”

1. The Doctor charges $45
2. Medicare provides a rebate of $15.35
3. Medicare Gap = $29.65 (our of pocket expense).

The Health Insurance Act 1973 (Cth) strictly prohibits any general insurer from insuring any item that is listed on the Medicare Benefits Schedule.

This also means that regardless of your out of pocket expenses, it is against the law for the insurer to cover the Medicare Gap.

So what does that mean?

If your medical or other treatment has a Medicare Item number, such as the doctor fee above, it is claimable on Medicare by is uninsurable and you may not claim for reimbursement.

In the example you cannot claim the $29.65.

If your medical or other treatment does not have a Medicare Item Number, you may claim for reimbursement through Marsh . For specific insurance and Risk Protection information please visit the making a claim section of this website.

Equestrian Australia membership does not cover you for Personal Accident cover whilst Overseas. It only provides cover while you are in Australia for non-income earning equine activities.

The EA Policy is for non-income earning Equestrian Activities, not for Professional riders.

Yes, if the damage was caused during non-income earning Equestrian Activities, your policy will likely cover the cost to repair associated damages to the vehicle.

Public Liability can help provide financial protection should your equestrian activities seriously injure a third party or cause damage to third party property. It is important to note that the excess on a claim under this policy is $2,500. The excess is set at $2,500 to protect the program from a high number of claims in order to keep premiums affordable for members.

The Public Liability policy does provide limited cover to property owners, in circumstances where their involvement is required for legal action brought against you, due to agisting activities conducted on their property.

A property owner is NOT covered under your public liability policy for claims where they are found liable for injuries or damage to a third party or their property.

The Personal Injury Policy provides 24/7 injury protection for any of your non-income earning Equestrian Activities. This may include riding at home, competing, feeding or grooming your horse – as long as you are not being paid to do so.

The benefits listed above are for all EA State Branch Members. If you are not a current EA member, you can register online through your State Branch. Please contact your State Branch directly for any questions on this process.