One benefit of receiving the Age Pension is the Pensioner Concession Card (PCC). But how much value can the PCC provide your client?

To address this question, we compare the benefits of the PCC with other Centrelink cards, including the Low Income Health Care Card (LIHCC) and the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC). The detailed eligibility considerations for these three cards are discussed in the article ‘Is your retiree client eligible for a concession?’. 

This article explores both the national and state benefits provided by the three Centrelink concession cards and the state or territory seniors cards. 

The information in this article is current as of 1 July 2024.

National benefits

Centrelink concession cards

All three Centrelink cards we discuss in this article (PCC, LIHCC and CSHC) provide the following national benefits:

• Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) – Concession cardholders can use the PBS to pay a maximum of $7.70 ($31.60 for non-concession cardholders) for each medicine on the PBS. A client can enquire about a medicine’s PBS eligibility at their local pharmacy or on the PBS website.
• Once a concession cardholder pays an amount in a calendar year equal to the PBS safety net threshold ($277.20 for concession cardholders), their medicine will be free for the rest of the year.
• Where two or more brands offer the same medicine, they may have different prices and therefore a more expensive brand may charge a premium on top of the PBS prescribed amounts.
• Extended Medicare Safety Net (EMSN) – The EMSN provides an increased rebate for Australian families and singles who incur out-of-pocket costs for Medicare eligible out-of-hospital services. Once the relevant annual threshold of out-of-pocket costs has been met, Medicare will pay up to 80 per cent of any future out-of-pocket costs for out-of-hospital Medicare services for the remainder of the calendar year. Concession cardholders are entitled to a lower EMSN threshold. The EMSN thresholds are indexed on 1 January each year and for 2024 the thresholds are: 
  • $811.80 for Commonwealth concession cardholders, including those with a Pensioner Concession Card, a Health Care Card or a Commonwealth Seniors Card, and people who receive Family Tax Benefit (Part A); and
  • $2,544.30 for all other singles and families.
     

The EMSN is different to and works in conjunction with the Original Medicare Safety Net (OMSN). Under the OMSN, once the annual threshold is reached, Medicare benefits increase to 100 per cent of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) fee for out-of-hospital services for the rest of the calendar year. Individuals can be eligible for the EMSN as well as the OMSN.

The OMSN threshold is also indexed on 1 January each year and for 2024 the threshold is $560.40.

• Bulk-billed doctor visits – doctors can receive higher payments from Medicare if they treat a concession cardholder, therefore some practices which do not bulk bill for a general patient may bulk bill for a concession cardholder (but are not required to).
• Australia Post – discounts for stamps and mail redirection. Free document certification.

The PCC also provides additional national benefits which the LIHCC and CSHC don’t, including:

• hearing services – subsidised hearing aids and assistive listening devices. For more information see the Australian Government Hearing Services Program Client Information Booklet; and
• Telstra – Pensioner discount offered for mobile phones, home internet and home phone.

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