Cost of living impacting people’s healthcare — new research

Health care is one of the critical items people are cutting out as the cost-of-living crisis deepens, but relief could be at hand.

People are putting their health on the backburner due to hip-pocket pain, with one in five delaying a visit to their GP in the last three months.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Queensland chair Bruce Willett told The Courier-Mail the struggle to find a bulk-billing doctor had put some people off keeping up with their health checks, but he hoped the introduction of federal government incentives in December would prompt more GPs to bulk-bill.

“Not all GPs will return to bulk billing, but it should be easier for concession card holders, pensioners and under-16s to find a bulk billing service,” Dr Willett said.

General practitioners will be incentivised to bulk-bill more of their patients through a tripling of the fee they receive for bulk billing, at a cost to the budget of $3.5bn over five years.

Compare the Market research has highlighted the desperate need for a revival of bulk-billing services with the finding that 20 per cent of people have put off health care visits.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Queensland chair Bruce Willett

Cost-of-living pressures have also forced Australians to delay eating out and going to the movies (43.9 per cent), booking a holiday (41.8 per cent), hair appointments (30.9 per cent) and car services (30.4 per cent).

“While hair appointments and holiday plans can be put on hold, healthcare isn’t something Australians should have to compromise on,” Compare the Market’s Chris Ford said.

“The budget increase is welcome news to some but others may not think it’s enough of an incentive to revive the GP clinics that have phased out bulk billing.”

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler described the move as the largest increase to the bulk-billing incentive in the 40-year history of Medicare.

“Not every GP may start bulk billing again because of this as some have been saying they are struggling to keep up the cost of running a practice,” Mr Ford said.

“If people are skipping the GP, then it may be an even sadder story when it comes to visiting a specialist or putting off a potential operation.

“If your specialist charges more than the Medical Benefits Schedule fee, you may have to pay out-of-pocket costs,” he said.