Providing Treatment to DVA Clients

Who is eligible to receive treatment

To help you identify our clients, we issue Veteran Cards to our veterans, their widowed partners or dependants.

We will pay many of the healthcare costs for people who have a Veteran Card. We will only cover healthcare costs for the person whose name is on the card.

We issue 3 types of Veteran Cards that entitle the holder to different levels of healthcare treatment:

• Veteran Gold Card – provides clinically necessary treatment for all medical conditions within Australia.
• Veteran White Card – provides clinically necessary treatment for accepted service-related conditions (plus Non-Liability Health Care)
• Veteran Orange Card – provides access to concessions for prescriptions, wound care products and nutritional supplements.

Checking what type of Veteran Card a client has

There are 2 ways you can establish what type of Veteran Card a DVA client holds:

• They can show you the physical card, or
• DVA clients can access digital versions of their Veteran Card through the myGov wallet in the myGov app, and through the online portal MyService.

The myGov app has some additional security features to confirm the card is genuine and valid. You can find out more in the myGov community resources.

The digital Veteran Cards provide the same information that is currently available on the physical card and can be used in the same way.

Treating a Veteran Gold Card holder

Generally, Gold Card holders can access all healthcare services listed on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) or DVA fee schedules for all health conditions, regardless if they are service related or not. The MBS and DVA fee schedule time and service limits still apply to Gold Card holders.

A person who has a Gold Card:

• can access the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme; and
• can access transport assistance.

Visit the Travel for Treatment web page for further information.

Treating a Veteran White Card holder

A Veteran White Card holder may be a current or former member of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) or Allied Veteran living in Australia.

For Veteran White Card holders, DVA will pay the healthcare costs for the specified health conditions listed on their White Card, these are conditions that have been determined to be service-related.

Veterans with continuous full-time service in the ADF or certain types of reserve service can also access mental health treatment under Non-Liability Health Care (NLHC) arrangements. In addition, some veterans may be eligible for treatment of cancer (malignant neoplasm) and pulmonary tuberculosis, depending on their service type and timing under NLHC arrangements. These will be listed on their card as Non-Liability Healthcare all mental health or malignancy. When treating a Veteran White Card holder you are required, under the applicable DVA Notes for Providers and DVA fee schedules, to check the treatment is for a condition listed on their card.

To check a person’s accepted condition/s or NLHC you can:

• have the client present their Veteran White Card in MyService, with the Conditions Listed opened to display the conditions covered; or
• have the client present written confirmation from DVA of their accepted conditions or acceptance of conditions eligible for treatment.

Some Veteran White Card holders may access transport assistance when travelling for treatment for a condition that is listed on their White Card.

Visit the Travel for Treatment web page for further information.

What type of treatment can I provide

Veteran Gold Cards and Veteran White Cards generally cover:

• medical and surgical care
• medical consultations and procedures that the MBS covers
• medical services and surgical procedures the MBS lists and which a healthcare professional performs in public and private hospitals and day surgery facilities
• medical specialist services the MBS lists
• medication reviews
• allied health services
• optical services
• dental services
• community nursing
• veterans home care
• rehabilitation aids and appliances
• pathology and x-rays
• nuclear medicine imaging
• ultrasound and computerised tomography

Sometimes we may not fund medical services that the MBS or DVA fee schedules do not list or where the service is outside the limits provided in the MBS or DVA fee schedules’ descriptors. You will need us to approve these services before you provide them.

Treating a Veteran Orange Card holder

An Orange Card holder may be a Commonwealth or allied veteran who:

• has qualifying service from the First World War or Second World War
• is aged 70 years or over
• has been a resident in Australia for 10 years or more

An Orange Card holder will pay less for medicines under the Repatriation Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme (RPBS).

The RPBS contains:

• all items that the general public can access
• extra items that Orange Card holders can access

If you still require assistance

If you still require assistance or support, please contact DVA on 1800 550 457 (option 3, option 1).

How you can claim for your service

Before we can pay you for providing healthcare, you will first need to become a provider with us.

There are steps you can take to invoice us.

Use a health card image

If you want to use a health card image in advertising, complete a D9208 application form.

Email the form with a mock-up image of the publication the health card will be in to publications@dva.gov.au