A plain-English guide to the Medicare Older Person's Health Assessment — who can have one, what it covers, what it costs, and a quick checker for when you're next due.
If you're aged 75 or over and have Medicare, you can have a free comprehensive health assessment with your GP once every 12 months. Medicare covers 100% of the fee, so at a bulk-billing practice there's no out-of-pocket cost. You're due again 12 months after your last one — check the date below.
This is general Medicare timing information based on the once-every-12-months claiming rule — not medical advice. Your practice confirms your exact eligibility, and your GP decides what is clinically appropriate. Source: MBS note AN.0.39.
Any Medicare-eligible person aged 75 years or over. It's a comprehensive assessment of your health and wellbeing, and your GP decides what to include based on your needs. The practice nurse often does part of the assessment, with your GP completing it.
The Older Person's Health Assessment can be claimed once every 12 months. Under MBS note AN.0.39, it cannot be claimed more than once every 12 months by an eligible patient. So if you had one last year, you're generally due again 12 months after that date — the checker above does the maths for you.
A 75+ health assessment is broader than a normal appointment. It usually looks at your medical history and medicines, a physical examination, and how you're going day to day — your memory, mood, mobility, balance and falls risk, continence, hearing and vision, nutrition, and the support you have at home. It finishes with a summary and a plan. Exactly what's included is up to your GP.
Medicare covers 100% of the schedule fee. If your practice bulk-bills, there's no out-of-pocket cost; if it bills privately, you may have a gap — ask reception when you book. The assessment is billed under one of the time-tiered MBS items (701, 703, 705 or 707) depending on how long it takes; you don't need to worry about which one — that's the practice's job.
Current as at June 2026. Information only — not medical advice. Your practice confirms your Medicare eligibility and your GP decides what is clinically appropriate. Talk to your GP about your health.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Check (MBS item 715) is a different assessment with its own eligibility and timing — it isn't the 75+ assessment, and the once-every-12-months rule on this page doesn't apply to it. If that's the check you mean, see our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Check guide.
Thinking ahead about aged-care support? The 75+ assessment is often where these conversations start. Answer a couple of questions on our sister site's Aged Care Navigator to find the right next step, or visit myagedcare.info → directly.