Concession and Safety Net Verification (OCVW)
Praxi is completing Services Australia conformance testing for Medicare Online Claiming. Production claiming becomes available once Services Australia grants the Notice of Integration (NOI). This page describes how the workflow operates so your practice can prepare; we will update it when certification completes.
Alongside patient verification (OPVW), Praxi can check a client's concession status and Medicare Safety Net position directly with Services Australia. This is the Online Concession Verification workflow (OCVW). Use it when a client's out-of-pocket costs depend on their concession entitlement — for example when deciding whether to bulk bill.
What the check returns
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Concessional | Whether Services Australia currently records the client as holding a concession entitlement (Pensioner Concession Card, Health Care Card, Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, DVA) |
| Safety Net reached | Whether the client has reached their Medicare Safety Net threshold for the calendar year |
| Safety Net threshold | The dollar threshold Services Australia applied |
The result is stored on the client record with the verification date, and is treated as fresh for 24 hours — the same freshness window as patient verification.
Running a check
- Open the client record, or the Medicare claim panel on an invoice
- On the Concession Verification card, click Verify Concession
- The result returns within seconds and is saved to the client record
If your practice has Auto-verify Patient Before Claim enabled (Settings → Medicare, PRODA & Claiming tab), Praxi refreshes a stale concession status automatically before claim submission.
Safety Net tracking
Praxi tracks both Safety Net tiers for the calendar year:
- Original Medicare Safety Net (OMSN) — gap amounts count toward it
- Extended Medicare Safety Net (EMSN) — out-of-pocket costs count toward it, with a lower threshold for concession card holders
Where a recent Services Australia answer is available, Praxi shows the authoritative figure. Otherwise it estimates from the invoices billed in your practice — clearly marked as an estimate, because claims made at other providers also count toward the client's Safety Net and are only visible to Services Australia.
At the point of service, Praxi surfaces advice when a client has reached — or is approaching — a threshold, so you can tell them their rebates may increase.
A concession or Safety Net answer is a statement of the client's status at the time of the check — it is not a guarantee of payment for a particular item. Item eligibility, referral validity and Better Access session caps still apply. Thresholds are set by Services Australia and update each January.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Verification failed" with SA error | Services Australia could not match the client's Medicare details | Re-check card number and IRN on the client record, then retry |
| Status seems out of date | Concession entitlements change; the stored answer is a snapshot | Click Verify Concession to refresh (older than 24 hours is treated as stale automatically) |
| No Medicare number on file | OCVW needs the client's Medicare details | Add the card number and IRN to the client record first |
Related: Medicare Claiming · Bulk-Bill Submission · Understanding Claim Statuses