Unclaimed Medicare benefits totalling $200 million are sitting idle, while the thousands of people owed remain unaware.

Hank Jorgen, the General Manager of Services Australia, told Peter Fegan on Brisbane Live that the “money belongs to about 900,000 people and of course we want to get it into their hands as quickly as possible”.

In most cases, people don’t realise that they’re entitled to any money because they “haven’t kept their bank account and address details up to date with Medicare”, Mr Jorgen said.

Hank Jorgen explains the simplest way to check if you’re owed money.

Press PLAY below to learn how to check

Image: Matt King/Getty Images