Medicare Carrier Screening – Lumi Now Offers Bulk Billing

Medicare has officially changed as of November, 2023. The latest item list now includes coverage for carrier screening, meaning eligible patients can be tested for as little as $0 out of pocket.

Lumi is proud to offer bulk-billing for our carrier screening tests, meaning millions of Australians now have even easier access to affordable prenatal testing.

Here's how Medicare carrier screening works, and what you need to do to access it.

What is Medicare carrier screening coverage?

Medicare is a form of health insurance offered to Australian citizens and permanent residents. The insurance scheme provides healthcare and offers services at discounted or no cost.

Medicare is taxpayer funded, allowing access to health insurance for all Australians.

Services Medicare covers

Some examples of services frequently covered by Medicare include:

• Visiting a doctor,
• Receiving treatment as a public patient in hospital,
• Filling a Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS) prescription,
• Select pathology tests.

As of November, 2023, the list of tests covered by Medicare now includes carrier screening. Eligible Australians will have access to 1 test per lifetime for 3 of the most common inherited genetic conditions.

This is a huge step forward in preventative healthcare and prenatal genetic testing.

How do I access Medicare for carrier screening?

The first thing to do is check you have access to Medicare. To do this, locate your card with your Medicare number on it.

Your Medicare card should look something like this:

Although please note that other Medicare card types (blue and yellow) are also eligible for Medicare-covered carrier screening testing.

If you don't yet have access to Medicare, you should first register with Services Australia and enrol. If eligible, you will be provided with a green, blue or yellow Medicare card. You can learn more about Medicare and Services Australia here.

If you don't have a physical Medicare card on hand, you might be able to find your Medicare card details online in your myGov account.

Once you've got your details, the next step is to talk to a carrier screening provider. There are several providers online (such as Lumi Health), however if you're not sure you can chat to your doctor, GP, or regular healthcare provider who can recommend a provider for you.

When your provider or doctor requests a test on your behalf, be sure to provide your Medicare number and consent. This should be enough to ensure you receive the benefit of Medicare bulk-billing as your provider will lodge the request for you.

Lumi Health charges a single price upfront for testing, meaning you won't need to worry about chasing up a rebate or paying an additional fee after purchase. The price you pay (which can be $0 for eligible patients) is the only cost you'll pay for the carrier screening test.

Lumi Health Medicare eligibility

There is certain eligibility criteria that needs to be met to receive Medicare benefits for carrier screening.

The female partner in the couple must:

• Have a valid Medicare card (any type),
• Be biologically female (AFAB),
• Either be currently pregnant, or planning a pregnancy in future,
• Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident,
• Have no previous Medicare benefit for this test (not had Medicare-covered carrier screening before), and
• Have a clinical need for this test (our qualified team of doctors will determine this for you after you order).

If eligible, Medicare will cover the entire cost of a Lumi Standard Carrier Screening test.

It can also cover the Standard component of Lumi's Extended and Comprehensive Carrier Screening, providing a cheaper price compared to non-Medicare testing.