Gold Coast GPs slam federal government’s November 1 Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program
Coast GPs are rejecting the federal government’s new $7.9bn bulk billing incentive, deeming it financially unviable and a threat to patient care.
Bulk billing incentives across Australia are expanding on November 1 to include all Medicare-eligible patients – but GP clinics across the Gold Coast say the new method is not feasible.
The $7.9bn federal government Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program was designed to support general practices to bulk bill all patients in a bid to improve access to general practice.
Practices which sign up must bulk bill all eligible services for eligible patients and will receive an additional 12.5 per cent payment on eligible services, paid quarterly and split between the GP and the practice.
But some say the change is “wrong” and “unrealistic”.
In a statement to patients from Robina Town and Easy T Medical Centres, it was announced both clinics would not be changing to the new model as “the government’s promises don’t match the financial reality.”
“While the government has announced additional incentives for practices that bulk bill 100 per cent of their patients, the total amount still falls well short of what it actually costs to provide you with high quality medical care,” it said.
The statement said the change will result in a six minute consultation having the same Medicare rebate as a 19 minute consultation – meaning the total payment a clinic will receive for a standard consult does not match the actual costs.
Patients will be unable to pay for those longer consults if clinics accept the new method.
The statement referred to this as an “all or nothing” and “inflexible” approach which didn’t reflect the reality of medical practice.
“No business can service on losing money on every transaction,” the statement said.
“At East T and Robina Town Medical Centres we pride ourselves providing our community with comprehensive high quality medicine and refuse to compromise on the quality of care we provide to make the numbers work.”
Director and principal GP at Haan Health Medical Centre Dr Sonu Haikerwal the concept, in essence, was wrong.
“It was never a fee for service, it was always a rebate towards the service,” she said.
“They’re still not addressing the problem as such. There will be clinics that are already in that model that run a very high turnover practice, seven days a week, in and out type of consults. “They’ll obviously have more money in their pocket – but whether that will change accessibility is a very different story.”
Dr Haikerwal said the cost of quality care was rising, and as a business owner, incomes had dropped even in private practice.
“That’s the reality of the profession we’re in,” she said.
“If we don’t keep our models of private practice as they are, we will not be able to subsidise care for those who really need it.
“The way the government sells the narrative to the general public is, ‘you’re getting paid, so why can’t you bulk bill me?’ – I’m expecting a barrage of those questions next week onwards.”
Dr Haikerwal said fundamentally, there’s no real extra money into clinicians pockets.
“In fact, some of our safety netting and safeguard is being taken away,” she said.
“So while the headlines for the general public is that, ‘we’re paying doctors more and they should be bulk billing you and not be greedy,’ – that’s not the reality on the ground.”
The GP and business owner said she won’t be changing her current model as the incentive being introduced was an “all or nothing phenomenon” which will harm the clinic’s practices and quality of care.
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Originally published as Gold Coast GPs slam federal government’s November 1 Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program
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