Smithfield Central Doctors to change their fee structure from August 1 as Medicare rebates lag

One of the last bulk billing GP practices in the city is changing its fee structure and increasing gap fees. WHAT IT MEANS FOR PATIENTS

THE northern suburbs of Cairns will lose its last bulkbilling GP service as Smithfield Central Doctors changes to a mixed billing practice from August 1.

The move places more pressure on the dwindling amount of bulkbilling practices in Cairns as northern suburbs residents will need to travel to Cairns North to find the nearest bulkbilling clinic.

Partnered Health CEO Michael Broadbent said the change from bulkbilling to mixed billing at Smithfield Central was due, in part, to the Medicare rebate being too low.

Smithfield Central Doctors at 7-11 Mount Millman Dr, Smithfield, is changing its fee structure. Photo: Isaac McCarthy

“Medicare has not kept up with the cost of providing quality healthcare, particularly as we’ve seen patients present with increasingly complex conditions, which require longer consult times with GPs,” he said.

“Over the past 10 years, the CPI for healthcare related costs has significantly outpaced the small increases in the Medicare Benefits Schedule. This has resulted in a 32 per cent gap, which has become unsustainable.

Standard consultation fees at Smithfield Central Doctors will be $80 from August 1.

Dr Aileen Traves, a GP at Thrive Medical in Cairns North, said this eventuality was inevitable and Cairns risked losing all its bulkbilling clinics unless Medicare rebates were increased to match indexation, the cost of doing business.

“Until governments realise this and appreciate how much GPs actually do to keep people out of hospitals … we will see this situation worsen,” she said.

“Unless patients start putting pressure on governments to increase their Medicare rebate they will have to pay the increasing gap.”

Smithfield central doctors will continue to bulkbill patients on DVA, a Pensioner Concession Card and patients aged 16 or younger.

Originally published as Smithfield Central Doctors to change their fee structure from August 1 as Medicare rebates lag