Tripled incentive leads to GP bulk billing spike
In the year since the incentive was launched, GPs provided 5.4 million extra bulk billed visits, with rates rising in every state and territory.
GP News Nov 4 2024.
Person paying at GP reception.
Around 90% of GP visits with children under 16 were bulk billed since incentives were tripled last year.
GPs have bulk billed an additional 5.4 million consults since ‘game changing’ tripled incentives went live on 1 November last year, according to new Federal Government data.
Marking one year on from the initiative’s launch on Monday, the Department of Health and Aged Care revealed 77.3% of all GP visits were bulk billed in October 2024.
This is up 1.7 percentage points nationwide from before the investment took effect and represents increases in every state and territory.
The yearly visits equate to an extra 103,000 bulk billed visits to the GP every week, with around 40% of these being in rural and regional areas.
Around 90% of GP visits with children under 16 were bulk billed since the incentives were tripled.
At the same time, the number of patients visiting a GP also increased, with a 1.2 percentage point increase in visits overall.
The largest increase was seen in Tasmania, where the proportion of all bulk-billed GP visits rose from 66.3% to 71.9%, up 5.6 percentage points.
RACGP Tasmania Chair Dr Toby Gardner welcomed the increase and said it has been particularly apparent in his state, where much of it is classed as ‘regional’.
‘A lot of our doctors are working in MMM 3–7 locations, so the incentive means a lot to them,’ he told newsGP.
‘It’s been really well received – it’s just nice to see a government investing in healthcare again and investing in general practice again.
‘It’s brought a renewed sense of morale to everyone and what we’re seeing is that translating into more people entering general practice now there is more hope in a future that’s going to be sustainable and viable for us all.’
The Northern Territory saw the second largest rise over the year, up 4.5 percentage points from 71.5% to 76%, followed by a 3.8 percentage point increase in South Australia.
Between November 2023 to October 2024, bulk billing rates changed from:
New South Wales: 80.6% to 81.9%
Victoria: 76.8% to 78.2%
Queensland: 73.6% to 75.6%
South Australia: 70.7% to 74.5%
Western Australia: 68.4% to 70%
Tasmania: 66.3% to 71.9%
Northern Territory: 71.5% to 76%
Australian Capital Territory: 51.5% to 52.5%
Australia: 75.6% to 77.3%
The tripled bulk billing incentive was the headline policy in a $5.7 billion injection of funds into Medicare in the 2023–24 Federal Budget last May.
The initiative applies to concession card holders, pensioners and children, and was designed to address widespread decline in bulk bulling as more general practices moved to mixed and private billing.
Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler said Australia is ‘starting to turn a corner’.
‘The changes and the investments we have made are starting to make a meaningful difference,’ he said.
‘Of course, there is more to do – I’d like to see bulk billing rates continue to increase, but just in 12 months as a result of the investments, even if you assumed that bulk billing wasn’t continuing to slide, we’ve delivered 5.4 million additional free visits to the GP.
‘We’re seeing doctors who had stopped bulk billing saying that they’d reverted to bulk billing again.’
But Dr Gardner said there is still a lot to do, even as the policy changes begin to trickle down into general practice on the ground.
‘On a personal note, I worked this weekend in our urgent care, and we were just flat out because people don’t have access to their GP for regular appointments at the moment because we’re just don’t have enough to fill demand,’ he said.
‘We’ve also got to increase the rebates for all those people who don’t get bulk billed.
‘We’re bulk billing 70% of the population, but if we don’t look after that 30% who are finding the cost of living harder and harder that we privately bill … they’re going to become the vulnerable group.’
Forum
Pages: 1
We Want The Doctor That does The Bulk-Billing (Read 50 times)
