Category Archives: Medicare Australia

Bulk-billed GP visits rise after introduction of incentives for doctors, data shows

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Doctors’ groups say improved rate is ‘encouraging’ but more investment in health system is needed

The federal government’s bulk-billing changes have helped more Australians see a GP, but peak doctors’ groups say the reforms are only a “down payment” on what they want to see in next month’s budget to help reduce healthcare costs.

New data from the health minister, Mark Butler, released overnight, shows 77.7% of all visits to general practitioners were bulk billed in March, a 2.1% rise since the Albanese government’s moves last November to triple incentives for doctors to take bulk-billed appointments.

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Online ads promote ‘simple’ access to super to pay for healthcare, despite strict rules

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Peak consumer body and financial services minister warn against private providers encouraging patients to tap into super to fund medical procedures

Advertisements offering patients “simple” access to their superannuation to pay for medical treatments have been described by the peak consumer health body as a “worrying trend” amid the cost-of-living crisis.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) approved 37,400 individuals to access their superannuation early on compassionate medical grounds in 2022-23, releasing a total of $730m.

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New Zealand to be briefed on Aukus – as it happened

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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking to ABC RN, and says news that the inflation rate has plunged to a two-year low of 4.1% is “welcoming, encouraging progress”.

… We know that people are still under pressure and we need to not be complacent about it. We need to continue to work as we have with our three point plan, having the surplus, making sure we deal with cost of living pressures without putting pressure on inflation, and dealing with … supply-chain issues as well.

With parliament resuming next week, this is a wake-up call that 2024 is the last chance for meaningful democratic reform ahead of the 2025 election …

Australians should go to the next election with strict political donation disclosure laws, truth in political advertising laws in force and information about who’s meeting ministers made public as a matter of course.

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Medicare turns 40: is Australia’s ‘little green card’ keeping up with changing health needs?

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Medicare’s universality under threat as chronic disease, mental illness and an aging population increase out-of-pocket costs, experts say

When Dr Brian Morton became a trainee general practitioner in 1977, healthcare bills were the number one cause of personal bankruptcies in Australia.

On more than one occasion Morton provided treatment to patients who couldn’t afford to pay. “If someone turned up, you wouldn’t turn them away,” he says.

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Rate of GPs bulk billing all patients in Australia drops to below one in four, data reveals

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Cleanbill report reveals national rate of bulk billing dropped 11% last year to 23.6%, with 514 clinics removing the service

Fewer than one in four Australian general practices provide bulk billing to all patients, with more than 500 clinics switching to private billing in the past year, according to a new report.

Online healthcare directory Cleanbill on Monday released its Blue Report providing data on the rates of bulk billing – where the full cost of a consultation is paid for by Medicare without any additional gap fees – across 6,818 practices.

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Patients warned many doctors won’t change approach to bulk billing despite new incentives

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Boosted rebate for concession card holders and children under 16 is in effect but GPs’ peak body says other patients won’t benefit

Many Australian patients won’t see their doctors return to bulk billing despite incentives introduced by the Albanese government, GPs have warned, while experts say more measures are needed to help disadvantaged, chronically ill people.

Patients who are bulk billed do not pay anything for their consult, with GPs billing the government directly through Medicare instead.

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Poorer Australian regions lose out in ‘flawed’ allocation of doctors, GP body says

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System of identifying shortages leads to skewing of resources towards wealthier areas, according to Royal Australian College of General Practitioners

Several poor rural regions are being disadvantaged by the way the Australian government identifies significant doctor shortages, while some wealthy areas are being classified as needing extra resources.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has argued that the system – which determines which regions need additional resources – is flawed and is exacerbating rural GP workforce shortages.

Doctors trained overseas are crucial to easing GP shortages across the country because for their first 10 years in Australia they must work in areas of need, known as a distribution priority area, to access Medicare benefits.

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Australia’s taxes ‘inadequate’ for ‘adequate services’, former secretary of finance warns

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Michael Keating to call for revenue review at Australia Institute summit as Labor provides update on multinational tax avoidance

Australia’s taxes are “inadequate” to finance government responsibilities including for aged care and defence, a former head of the finance department has warned.

Michael Keating, the secretary of the Department of Finance from 1986 to 1991, will call for a review of revenue at the progressive thinktank the Australia Institute’s revenue summit on Friday. The call is aimed at sparking debate about methods to close the tax gap including congestion charging, lifting and broadening the goods and services tax and adjusting the stage-three income tax cuts.

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Coalition will seek to block Labor plan for cheaper medicine after backlash from pharmacies

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Opposition won’t support 60-day dispensing policy that allows patients to buy two months of medicine for price of one over concerns community pharmacies will be forced to close

The Coalition has asked the Senate to tear up changes allowing patients to buy two months of medicine for the price of one unless Labor pauses the policy and blunts the impact on pharmacies.

On Wednesday the shadow health minister, Anne Ruston, and Nationals Senate leader, Bridget McKenzie, announced that if the Albanese government did not pause the 60-day dispensing policy they would seek to have it disallowed.

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Data reveals significant drop in proportion of specialist appointments funded by Medicare

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Patient advocates say more needs to be done to reduce out-of-pocket costs and improve the health literacy of Australians

The level of Medicare coverage for specialist medical appointments has fallen steadily and significantly over the past two decades and is well below that of GP visits, data shows, prompting calls for reform from patient advocates.

Medicare data published on Thursday by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reveals that the proportion of subsidised fees varies widely depending on the type of appointment.

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Major $2.2bn Medicare overhaul welcomed but medical association warns budget will be ‘real test’

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National cabinet also plans to work on strengthening renters’ rights, boosting housing supply and affordability, and improving NDIS

Medical groups have praised the $2.2bn Medicare overhaul announced by national cabinet but warned there is more to do to fix the nation’s ailing general practice and hospital systems.

National cabinet committed nearly $1.5bn in new funding to overhaul Medicare, as part of a $2.2bn health plan to boost the number of nurses, increase after-hours care and expand the roles of pharmacists and paramedics.

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ACTU will not push for spot on RBA board as review released – as it happened

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Bandt: if budget can afford stage-three tax cuts it can afford to lift Australians out of poverty.

Bandt is also highly critical of the government as it appears set to reject a call from its very own expert advisory panel to raise the jobseeker rate. He says if the budget can afford to keep stage-three tax cuts, it can afford to lift Australians out of poverty:

Everyday people are not causing inflation. They are the victims of inflation. Now, Labor has found over a quarter of a trillion dollars for tax cuts for billionaires and politicians that can’t lift people out of poverty.

Labor’s not making hard choices in this budget, they’re making everyone else make hard choices, like whether to pay for the rent or whether to put food on the table.

We’ll have a look at all of the recommendations of the review, and the government’s response when it’s released fully but a major party stitch up isn’t going to fix the inflation problem.

We need more than just outsourcing the issue of tackling inflation to the RBA, which is what Liberal and Labor want to do. We know that it is excessive profiteering that is driving higher prices and inflation in this country. It’s not the everyday people.

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Australia news live: seizure of $270m worth of heroin is Queensland’s biggest; RBA interest rates decision due

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Australians will find out at 2.30pm AEST whether the Reserve Bank will pause its interest rates hikes after 10 consecutive rises. Follow the day’s news live

Australia’s new high commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith, says becoming a republic is “inevitable” even if Australians are proud to have the British monarch as their head of state.

In his first interview since taking up the post, Smith told the Times newspaper that most British people would be “indifferent” to Australia getting rid of the monarchy and it would not damage the countries’ relationship.

There is a lot of affection and respect for the monarchy in Australia.

That affection and respect hasn’t gone away because of Australia contemplating from time to time what it should do about its constitutional arrangements.

My personal view is it’s inevitable. But how that’s progressed is entirely a matter for the Australian government of the day.

Our public-sector workers do a great job serving their fellow Victorians and we’re proud to support them. In addition to wage increases, workers will be able to obtain a sign-on bonus while productivity improvements will bring the potential for further advancement of conditions.

The policy provides fair outcomes for employees while being responsible as we deal with the types of budget challenges faced by families, businesses and governments across the world.

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Medicare fraud and non-compliance costing taxpayers up to $3bn, review finds

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Government-commissioned report argues structural reform is essential and requires a simpler, clearer billing system

Medicare fraud and non-compliance by doctors is costing taxpayers between $1.5bn and $3bn a year, a conservative estimate that will only increase without system reforms, according to a government-commissioned independent review.

The review into Medicare compliance, led by health economist Dr Pradeep Philip, was commissioned following ongoing concerns about waste and wrongful billing practices.

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Now the public has useful data on bulk-billing we can really push politicians for better healthcare

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The widely varying levels of bulk billing across Australia suggest diverse solutions may be needed to restore affordable GP services

Last year Guardian Australia’s medical editor, Melissa Davey, approached the new federal government seeking the release of GP bulk-billing statistics by electorate. Her article today reports on the process and the data she eventually received.

Health policy researchers should applaud Davey’s initiative and persistence in seeking and obtaining this data, which has not been released previously in this form.

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Revealed: more Australians than ever are paying to see a doctor as new data shows worst hit areas

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Exclusive: Data obtained by Guardian Australia reveals the areas suffering the biggest drop in fully bulk-billed GP patients

The number of Australians who are fully bulk billed by their GP has dropped significantly in just three years, with one electorate experiencing a decline of 18%, a Guardian Australia investigation reveals.

Experts say the decline of bulk billing – where the full cost of a consultation is paid for by Medicare without any additional gap fees – is putting serious strain on overstretched emergency departments and other health services.

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Mark Butler says increase to Medicare rebate ‘not off the table’

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Health minister hits back at criticism from AMA that government report had no immediate recommendations to help Australians access more affordable care

The health minister, Mark Butler, says an increase to the Medicare rebate is not off the table, as the federal government tries to address problems in Australia’s healthcare system.

Butler has also hit back at criticisms a Medicare review initiated by the government did not have tangible recommendations to provide immediate relief.

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An improved My Health Record will be at centre of push to modernise primary healthcare

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Better digital systems are to be discussed at national cabinet, while the AMA will call for stronger safeguards to protect patient data

The under-utilised and much-maligned My Health Record will be at the centre of a push to modernise primary healthcare, with better digital systems to be discussed at national cabinet.

The Strengthening Medicare Taskforce has agreed to improve and expand the use of the platform, with a broader range of health professionals able to access and add to digital health records a key recommendation of its report to drive improvements in primary care.

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Czech pair defend Australian Open doubles title; millions of RATs to expire in coming months – as it happened

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There are reports of delayed and diverted flights at Sydney airport after an air control tower was evacuated.

Airservices Australia has told Nine that the incident was sparked by fumes emitting through the air conditioning system, resulting in two international flights being diverted.

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Cancer and other serious illnesses could go undiagnosed if specialists take on GP tasks, RACGP says

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Australian peak GP body says ‘overall picture’ of patients’ health will be lost if Medicare changes split care across multiple providers

Australia’s peak GP group is concerned serious conditions such as cancer could be missed if general practice is deprioritised under looming changes to Medicare funding, saying parts of their roles should not be transferred to other health professionals.

As allied health groups suggest nurses, physiotherapists or pharmacists could perform some work currently done by GPs, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners said it was “nervous” about patients visiting separate specialists without being monitored by a coordinating doctor.

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