QUEENSLAND LNP Senator Paul Scarr says claims of an uptick in the availability of bulk billing are nothing but spin.
Senator Scarr responded after Local Member for Blair Shayne Neumann announced that a slide in the GP bulk billing rate had stopped after a “decade of cuts and neglect from the Liberals”.
Mr Neumann said that more than 105,000 patients in Blair could now access a bulk-billed doctor since November 2023.
“This government is weakening Medicare, not strengthening it,” Senator Scarr said.
“The government appears to be reheating an old bulk billing announcement to hide the fact that it has never been harder and more expensive to see a doctor.
“The truth is that Medicare is currently covering the least amount of GP fees on record.”
He said research by healthcare directory Cleanbill showed the number of GP medical clinics offering bulk billing to new adult patients without concessions had fallen from 25 to 16 during 2023 in the Ipswich region – a fall of 36 percent.
“The Royal Australian College of General Practitioner’s Health of the Nation report also reported late last year that the number of GPs who bulk bill all their patients halved in just one year, while the cost of seeing a GP has increased by $11 on average,” Senator Scarr said.
“Labor can spin the figures as much as they like, but we know that 1.2 million Australians avoided seeing a doctor last year because of the costs, a seriously concerning trend.
“Locals cannot afford to see a doctor, which increases the pressure on our over-burdened Ipswich Hospital with tragic consequences.
“The percentage of GP services paid for by Medicare has fallen to 84 percent – the lowest level on record.
“This means that Australians are paying the highest out-of-pocket fees in history.”
But Mr Neumann said the GP bulk billing rate was 77.7 percent in March, a rise of 2.1 percent.
“The government’s tripling of the bulk billing incentive for GPs means that more than 50 GP practices in Ipswich, the Somerset Region and Karana Downs area who bulk bill are getting more government support for their vital services,” Mr Neumann said.
Mr Neumann said the newly opened Ipswich Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) was making it “easier for locals to access bulk-billed care close to home”.
“Our Ipswich UCC has had 5,542 visits as of April 22, and is ensuring local families can get bulk billed care when they need it,” Mr Neumann said.
“This is reducing out of pocket costs and cost of living pressures for people in the Ipswich region, while taking pressure off the Ipswich Hospital Emergency Department.”
