Almost 12 million Australians will find visiting their doctor less taxing on the household budget as the federal government announced a $3.5 billion (US$2.4 billion) investment into bulk billing.
The largest funding boost in bulk billing is part of the $6.1 billion package into strengthening Medicare and providing middle Australians, not just the most vulnerable, with cost relief.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers told the Parliament that families were forced into a “lose-lose” situation of choosing between getting medical help or paying their bills, leaving many health issues undiagnosed and untreated.
“One of the things that makes this the best country in the world is our shared belief that every Australian should be able to access affordable, reliable healthcare,” he said in the budget speech on Tuesday evening.
“But right now, too many people are finding it more and more difficult to see a doctor.”
From Nov. 1, 11.6 million people—children under 16, pensioners, and other concession card holders—will be able to receive a consultation for free by a general practitioner (GP) who bulk bills.
It will cover general face-to-face and over the phone GP consultations, including home visits and consultations in residential aged care facilities.
Bulk billing is when the doctor receives its consultation fee through a Medicare rebate rather than charging the patient. In other words, it provides access to universal free healthcare for some services.
Inflation Affecting Health Services
It comes in response to a decline in bulk billing as the rebates have been unable to keep up with increasing costs, pushing GPs and patients to cover a rising gap.Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) was one of the main voices in pushing for tripling the bulk billing incentive and increasing Medicare rebates.
“Medicare has not kept up with the cost of running a practice, and we are now well past the point where the general practice profession just can subsidise care,” RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins said in April.
“GPs have sacrificed for years to maintain access to healthcare for their most vulnerable patients, but as we’ve seen with recent practice closures, once a practice is no longer financially viable, it has no choice but to close.”
Health Minister Mark Butler also declared in February that Australia’s primary healthcare system was in its “worst shape” in 40 years and promised an overhaul of the system.
RACGP called the budget announcement a “game changer” for GPs and their patients.
“I commend the Albanese government for committing to this massive investment in general practice care. We know the problems impacting our health system can’t all be fixed in one go, but tonight’s Budget includes a groundbreaking investment in the health of all Australians by strengthening general practice care,” Higgins said.
“It will help to stem the bleeding, relieve pressure on our entire healthcare system including our hospitals, and ease pressures on people struggling to afford the care they need.
More Funding, More Spending
Along with the bulk billing incentive, which Chalmers dubbed the centrepiece of the budget, the Medicare funding package also delivers cheaper medicine.GPs and nurse practitioners will be able to prescribe two months’ worth of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme-listed medicine, compared to the current one-month supply.
This is expected to help around 6 million Australians lower out-of-pocket costs for over 300 medicines for chronic conditions such as heart disease, high cholesterol, and hypertension.
Eligible patients can save up to $180 a year for each medicine they take.
Medicine to treat COVID-19, cystic fibrosis, and other conditions have also been added to the PBS listings.
Patients will save an estimated $1.6 billion, with the scheme to cost the government $2.2 billion.
Almost $1 billion will also go into digitally connecting the health records of Australians to the healthcare system and enable digital healthcare.
The Medicare funding comes as part of a $14.6 billion cost of living relief package in the federal 2023-24 budget.
In response to criticism that the budget would add to inflation, Chalmers said it had been “carefully calibrated to alleviate inflationary pressures, not add to them.”
“Our policies to ease the pressure on households will take 0.75 of a percentage point off inflation in 2023-24,” he said.
However, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor warned that Labor cannot spend its way out of a cost of living crisis.
“For every dollar of new taxes it has imposed in this budget, the government has decided to spend two. In this budget, it is spending twice as fast as it is taxing Australians,” he said.
