Come November, the cost of seeing a GP should be one less worry on your plate, with both of Australia’s major parties confirming they will boost Medicare funding if elected.
On Sunday, Labor unveiled a $8.5 billion pledge to boost Medicare funding — which the Coalition quickly confirmed it intended to match, throwing in a further $500 million — which spells pretty great news for the rest of us in a cost-of-living crisis.
So with the measure looking pretty concrete regardless of who wins the upcoming election, what’s it going to look like moving forward? And will it apply for everyone? Here’s the scoop.
What are Labor and the Coalition promising?
In what the government claims is the single largest investment in Medicare since its creation four decades ago, Labor’s $8.5 billion package is aiming for nine out of 10 GP visits to be bulk billed by 2030.
It said it will expand GP bulk billing incentives to all Australians, beyond pensioners, concession cardholders, and families with children.
It will create an additional new incentive payment for practices that bulk bill every patient and there will be an additional loading payment for clinics who bulk bill every patient they see.
Under this package, you should see some pretty big increases in bulk billing rebates, with standard city consultations increasing from $42.85 to $69.56 and consultations in regional centres and rural towns rising to over $80.
The plan includes mental health provisions as well, meaning the rebate for a standard consultation of $81.70 should rise to $99.06 in cities and over $125 in regional and rural areas.
By 2028, fully bulk-billed practices are expected to triple, reaching around 4,800 practices nationwide.
You can peep more of the figures here:
Source: government fact sheet
Additionally, the plan aims to boost the healthcare workforce. Labor has committed $265.2 million to expand GP training, adding 200 extra places per year from 2026, increasing to 400 by 2028.
Around $10.5 million has also been committed for 400 scholarships for nurses and midwives.
Addressing how this package will be funded, Treasurer Jim Chalmers indicated about $5.4 billion of the $8.5 billion announced had already been provisioned for in the mid-year budget update, per ABC News.
Meanwhile, the Coalition’s slightly higher $9 billion commitment aims to match Labor’s pledge “dollar for dollar” plus $500 million previously announced for mental health support.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton explained the funding would go towards training, mental health services and “support to make sure that practices are viable and can provide a mix of services to patients”.
“And it will help build those bulk billing rates back up to what they were under a Coalition government,” he said, per ABC News.
What have GPs said?
In a statement on Sunday, the Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) welcomed the move and said it acknowledges the critical need to fund a sustainable GP workforce.
“The GP attraction initiative will match the wages, and parental and study leave entitlements of GP trainees to those of hospital-based doctors. This will remove one of the most significant barriers to junior doctors choosing a career in general practice,” remarked RACGP President Dr Michael Wright.
“Similarly, the Government’s commitment to expanding GP training numbers will ensure more Australian communities can access GP care close to where they live. This is so important because there is no substitute for the high-quality care you get from a specialist GP who knows you and your history.”
However, he cautioned that extending bulk billing incentives wouldn’t necessarily mean everyone will get bulk billed, as “patient rebates are still too low to cover the cost of care”.
“Ultimately, we need to make sure GPs are enabled to deliver high-quality care that is sustainable and doesn’t put unreasonable pressure on practitioners to see people quickly or make it harder for people to get more time with their GP,” Wright said.
Dr Danielle McMullen, president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) agreed the cost of providing care could still be too great, meaning not all GPs might be able to bulk bill all patients.
“In some parts of Australia, this will see a shift in the rates of no out-of-pocket consultations. In other parts, it’s unlikely to make a huge difference,” she told reporters in Canberra on Sunday.
“We know in some of our metropolitan centres and in some of our better off suburbs, the average out-of-pocket cost is now above $40 and so the $20 bulk billing incentive still doesn’t come close to meeting those costs, but really, I do hope this will make a difference in rural and regional communities and in our areas of socioeconomic disadvantage, where GPs have been really trying as hard as they can to keep those costs down and we’ll be able to bulk bill more patients.”
Hopefully the incentive will also help people who have been delaying GP care due to out-of-pocket costs, Dr McMullen said.
“We have seen people delaying care and as a GP myself, it is really sad when we hear stories of people who’ve had minor symptoms but have been putting off and putting off seeing the GP until their condition is much more serious.
“I do hope that incentives like this, and the focus on needing to fund general practice properly, does help bring people back to our clinics.”
Around 8.8 per cent of people over the age of 16 reported that cost was a reason for delaying or not seeing a GP in the 2023-24 financial year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Some 20.4 per cent of people delayed or did not see a health professional for their own mental health when needed due to cost.
The Greens have already called for Parliament to be recalled this week while Estimates is on to legislate the policy, with Greens leader Adam Bandt stating there’s “no reason to hold this reform ransom to the outcome of the election”.
Look, there’s been quite a bit of policy back-and-forth recently as the election draws near — so it’s amazing to see Medicare funding’s got cross-party support!
Lead image: Getty Images
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