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1st November 2023 (Current)
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Effective as of the 1st of November 2023, we have now changed our billing in accordance to the new triple bulk-billing incentive released by Medicare this month. Our new billing arrangements are as shown below:
– Concession Card holders with a valid Health Care Card, Pension Card, or Commonwealth Seniors Card will be bulk billed for their consults both face-to-face and over the phone.
– Children under the age of 16 are also eligible to bulk-billed for their visits to the GP.
With these changes in place at the practice, we endeavour to reduce financial strain from regular visits to the GP and to support the quality of life of our community. In addition to these changes, we believe it is beneficial to sign up to the MyMedicare initiative which can allow for longer phone consults at our practice (for more info, please click here).
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1st March 2023 (See 1st November 2023 for current billing guidelines)
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We wish to inform you that our practice will be transitioning to private billing for most of our patients with effect from 1 March 2023.
Bulk billing will continue for the following appointments / patients:
– DVA patients – Gold or White Card (Eligible Conditions)
– Scheduled Immunisations
– Health Assessments / Care Plans
– Patients who are Health Care Card holders or Pensioner Card Holders and who have an active care plan performed at this practice within the last 12 months (which indicates that they suffer from a chronic disease).
All other billings will be as per AMA rates.
Please discuss your individual situation with your doctor should you be suffering from financial hardship which would affect your ability to pay for your consultation.
Our aim has always been to provide access to high quality and affordable healthcare to our patients, but we are unable to do this if our practice business is not viable.
These changes have been forced on us due to a combination of factors including:
– A sustained lack of increases to Medicare rebates from the Commonwealth Government.
– Rising costs to the practice from wage increases and inflation.
These billing arrangements will commence with effect from 1st March 2023
Background:
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- Our practice costs increased by over 10% in the last year.
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- The Medicare rebate for a standard consultation was only increased by 65 cents (1.6%) at the same time.
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- The six-year freeze on the Medicare rebate implemented by the previous government has seen $2 billion removed from general practice income with a total of $8.5 billion removed since 1993.
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- General practice accounts for just under 8% of Federal Government health expenditure when primary and preventative health care is the most cost-effective aspect of health care.
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- The Medicare rebate of $39.75 for a standard consultation is only 46% of what the rebate should be.