Survey finds only 12% of doctors can afford to bulk-bill patients

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The cost of going to the doctor continues to rise and only 12 per-cent of GP’s say they can afford to bulk bill all patients, according to an industry report. The Royal Australian College of GP's surveyed thousands of doctors across Australia and found they now charge 90-dollars for a standard consultation. Doctors also reported they are taking on the care normally provided by specialists.

Transcript

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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