Bulk Billing changes miss the mark

AMA Queensland calls for a better deal for patients

AMA Queensland has lamented the Australian Government’s changes to bulk billing incentives as a missed opportunity for genuine investment in preventive health.

President Dr Nick Yim said doctors wanted an increase to the base Medicare rebate to benefit all Australians.

“Time and again we have said changing the bulk billing incentives will do little to improve health outcomes, especially when it comes to complex care," he said.

“The model the government has implemented incentivises short, episodic treatment and not the long-term personal care so many patients need, especially when it comes to chronic disease and mental health.

“We are also frustrated that Minister Butler has repeatedly boasted that GP appointments will be ‘free’ under the program and that patients will ‘only need their Medicare card, not their credit card’.

“We have had many practices tell us that this is simply not true because the changes will not cover their current staff, rent, electricity, consumables, insurance and other costs.

“Many of them are also concerned that this rhetoric will result in their hard-working reception staff and doctors being subjected to verbal abuse due to the foreseeable patient confusion and frustration these repeated promises have caused.

“We already have a GP workforce shortage and this will do nothing to attract talented medical graduates to a career in general practice."

Dr Yim said even those practices which are considering adopting the changes report complicated business arrangements must be put in place first before they can even start applying the incentives.

“In many cases, practices will have to renegotiate agreements with every doctor in the practice which just won’t happen before next year," he said.

“We again call on the Australian Government to direct that near $8 billion into the base Medicare rebates themselves, rather than tinkering around the edges.

“If they can invest in high-cost urgent care clinics, then they can invest in high-quality general practice care.”

AMA Queensland has produced a series of posters to help clinics explain the changes to patients, available here.

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Contact the AMA Queensland Media Team