00:00Well, if it feels like you're paying more, it's because you are.
00:05The average fee for a 6 to 20 minute appointment has gone from $78 to $82, so that means you're
00:11about $40 out of pocket.
00:14The bulk billing rate hasn't really budged, in fact it's come down a little bit, and more
00:18people are delaying care due to cost.
00:22In good news though, the wait time to actually get an appointment with a GP has improved
00:26a bit.
00:27So how long are doctors spending with patients, Paige?
00:31So they're spending on average around 20 minutes, which is longer than last year.
00:36They say their biggest challenge is the complexity of cases which are coming through their door,
00:41particularly with mental health, and these kind of appointments do require a lot more
00:45time.
00:46But they say the system incentivises shorter appointments, so they can make a lot more
00:52money squeezing in lots of patients quickly back to back, rather than taking their time
00:57with 30, 40, 50 minute appointments.
01:00That's why the RACGP is calling for 40% increase to the rebates for longer appointments.
01:07Here's the President, Michael Wright, speaking at Parliament House in Canberra this morning.
01:12What we're seeing is that complexity of care is increasing.
01:15So we need to fix Medicare funding so that patients can spend more time with their GP when they
01:21need to.
01:22We know that's important for their health and also for the health of the community.
01:26We also know that our female GPs are more likely to spend more time with their patients,
01:30and it's important that the gender pay gap there is also fixed.
01:33The next month, Paige, major bulk billing changes will come into effect.
01:38So how will that change the cost of care?
01:40Yeah, so from November 1, doctors will get an incentive for bulk billing everybody,
01:46not just concession card holders or those under 16.
01:49There will also be a bonus incentive if every GP at a clinic can bulk bill every patient.
01:56The government says that means by 2030, 9 out of 10 GP appointments will be bulk billed,
02:02but many doctors have told the ABC that that is just not going to happen.
02:06It's not going to be affordable.
02:08There's also some concern about next month, the removal of mental health billing categories.
02:14It means mental health appointments will be billed on a time basis,
02:18and some GPs are concerned that will cost patients more and they'll receive worse care.
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