MARK BUTLER MP
MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE

STEPHEN JONES MP
ASSISTANT TREASURER
MINISTER FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES
MEMBER FOR WHITLAM

ALISON BYRNES MP
MEMBER FOR CUNNINGHAM

Medicare billing data shows the Albanese Government’s record investment to strengthen Medicare one year ago has revived bulk billing, with Illawarra residents having an additional 149,900 free visits to the GP in the past year.

*Data includes the electorates of Cunningham and Whitlam.

Nationally, the investment has created an additional 103,000 bulk billed visits to the GP every week, on average, or 5.4 million additional visits since November last year.

On 1 November 2023, the Government made the largest investment in bulk billing in Medicare history, targeted to families with children under 16, pensioners and concession card holders.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) called the investment a “game changer” and for the past 12 months, GPs said it gave them the confidence to bulk bill more often, after a decade of cuts and neglect to Medicare.

In a survey of thousands of doctors by the RACGP last month, more doctors now say they are bulk billing more patients, more often. This week the Government released Medicare billing data for the first year since the historic investment took effect, which confirms the freefall in bulk billing it inherited has been arrested and turned around.

Families with children under 16, pensioners and concession card holders are now bulk billed much more often: 90.0 per cent of GP visits with children under 16 were bulk billed in the past year.

These 11 million Australians see their GP most often: they make up 40 per cent of patients, yet account for 60 per cent of GP visits, on average.

The historic investment in bulk billing builds on other ways the Albanese Government is strengthening Medicare to make health care more affordable and available:

• Made the largest boost to Medicare rebates in decades, increasing rebates by more in two years than the former government did in nine years.
• Funding and opening 87 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, so Australians can walk in and get bulk billed urgent care, seven days a week, open early to late, without waiting hours in a busy hospital emergency department.
• Added more than 17,000 new doctors to the health system in two years, delivering the most new doctors in more than a decade.
• Boosted the number of doctors training to become GPs by almost 25%, with the Government fully funding the training of 4,800 new GPs between 2023 and 2025.
• Made medicines cheaper, saving Australians $1 billion by cutting the cost of medicines, lowering the Safety Net threshold and 60-day prescriptions.
  
  

Quotes attributable to Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler:

“Medicare is for all Australians and Labor is the Party of Medicare, always.

“Labor introduced Medicare 40 years ago and we have defended and strengthened it ever since.

“We know we have more work to do to restore bulk billing after a decade of cuts from Peter Dutton and the Liberals.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Whitlam Stephen Jones:

“It’s important locals can see their GP using their Medicare card, not their credit card. These latest figures show our Government’s significant investment in bulk-billing is working.

“Strengthening Medicare is part of our plan to provide cost-of-living relief which also includes tax cuts, energy bill relief for households and businesses and cheaper medicines.

“We know there’s more work to do, including getting more GPs into the health system after a decade of inaction by the Coalition.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Cunningham Alison Byrnes:

“Our investments in bulk billing are making a real difference to more Illawarra locals, with 149,900 additional bulk billed visits to the GP than last year.

“We know families with young children, pensioners and concession cardholders have been doing it tough, and it’s great to see that our targeted relief has reached those that need it most.

“Tax cuts, cheaper childcare and boosting Medicare We know there’s more to do and we will continue to deliver cost of living relief to all Australian’s, not just some.