Aussies are paying more to see a doctor than they were a year ago as Anthony Albanese plans to entice voters with a pre-election Medicare overhaul.
Despite the Labor government investing $3.5billion to boost bulk billing rates, Aussies across all age groups are paying more to see their GP since Labor came to power in 2022.
Though the rates for children and the elderly have rebounded slightly, the trend for working Aussies continues downward.
In the 16-64 age group, bulk billing rates – when patients have appointments fully covered by Medicare – fell from 82 per cent in the year to October 2022 to 69 per cent in the year to October 2024, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data showed.
Labor’s main 2023 budget policy targeted younger Aussies and the elderly and tripled the bonus paid to doctors when they bulk billed those age groups.
The policy has resulted in a modest reprieve for those target groups.
Bulk billing rates for children aged under 15, and old people over 65, both increased from 2023 to 2024, by two per cent and one per cent respectively.
But the rate for working Aussies went down, with a two per cent drop from 2023 to 2024.
Aussies are paying more to see a doctor than they were a year ago as Anthony Albanese plans to entice voters with a pre-election Medicare overhaul (stock image of Sydney medical practice)
Despite the Labor government investing $3.5billion to boost bulk billing rates, Aussies aged 16 to 64 are paying more to see their GP since Labor came to power in 2022
And even the rates for young Australians and the elderly were lower in October 2024 than they were two years earlier, with rates falling across the board since 2022.
With doctor’s fees increasing each year, this means Aussies across all age groups are out of pocket.
Health Minister Mark Butler said on Thursday the government’s investment had already made a ‘meaningful difference’.
‘[But] there are cohorts who are still really doing it tough. We know there’s more to do on bulk billing, and we’re committed to doing more,’ Mr Butler told The Age.
‘We’re keeping a very keen eye on what’s happening with patients who aren’t covered by the bulk billing incentive, what’s happening in areas of general practice where the incentive is not being taken up.
‘Although there is a very marginal decline in bulk billing [for adults] according to the AIHW data last year, frankly, those rates were in freefall before we tripled the bulk-billing incentive.’
Coalition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said despite Labor’s investment it had left Medicare weaker than it was in 2022.
‘Australians can feel the truth of Labor’s Medicare record every time they go to pay the bill at their GP reception desk,’ she said.
Labor is now signaling even bigger investments in bulk billing as it puts Medicare at the centre of its election campaign. Mr Albanese is expected to unveil Labor’s new health promises for bulk billing, the GP workforce and urgent care clinics before the federal election, which could be as early as March.
