Queenslanders pay more to see GP as clinics stop bulk-billing, refuse new patients

Queenslanders are struggling to find free GP appointments, with an investigation showing fewer than 30 per cent of clinics in the Greater Brisbane area bulk-bill, with many now closing their books to new patients. WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO PAY

Queenslanders are struggling to find free GP appointments compared with patients in other states, with an investigation showing fewer than 30 per cent of clinics in the Greater Brisbane area bulk-bill. In Greater Sydney the bulk-billing rate is 67 per cent and it is 39 per cent in Greater Melbourne.

In another blow for Brisbane, the probe into more than 20,000 GPs nationwide revealed that almost one in 10 clinics are not taking on new patients, further limiting patient access to medical care.

And the state’s medical experts say, if it were not for the good nature of community doctors, the situation for patients would be more dire.

Australian Medical Association of Queensland president Dr Maria Boulton.

“GPs can no longer afford to bulk bill. We are seeing practices close every day because of the rising costs of running a business – rent, power bills, staff wages, insurance, accreditation and equipment,” Australian Medical Association Queensland president Maria Boulton said.

The research into 4188 clinics with 21,000 GPs across Australia was done by Cleanbill, a free online healthcare directory that compares GP prices and services.

The study found in Greater Brisbane, patients’ average out-of-pocket fee for a standard consultation is $38.62 and in Greater Sydney it is $42.12. Greater Melbourne is $40.05 and the national average is $40.25. In Greater Brisbane the average cost of a standard consultation is $78.37. Of the 645 clinics in the area 72 are not taking any new patients.

The findings revealed the out-of-pocket costs for a Brisbane consultation ranged from $20 to $52, highlighting the benefits of shopping around.

“No GP wants to close their doors and walk away from their patients, particularly in regional and rural communities,” Dr Boulton, who is a GP, said.

Queensland chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Bruce Willett. File picture: Tara Croser.

“When universal healthcare was introduced in 1976, the rebate for a standard GP consult was $8.20 and the median house price in Brisbane was $26,000. Today, the rebate is $39.75 and the median house price is $880,000. Medicare rebates are no longer fit for purpose. These are patient rebates that, by design, are meant to subsidise the patient’s access to medical services such as consultations with their GPs. But the current Medicare system doesn’t recognise that patients need long medicine. It rewards short consultations, not holistic care.”

If a GP opts to treat a pensioner for free, the rebate from the government is less than $40.

Before having children, Emily Hickey and her husband Aaron never saw a doctor if it wasn’t “absolutely necessary” and would seek out a bulk-billing service for their prescription needs.

But when little Harper, 4, and Hudson, 2, came along, they made a conscious effort to secure a good GP near their Morningside home.

“We found a GP who is easy, close, highly recommended and had a good rapport with our children, and they don’t bulk bill,” Ms Hickey said.

But she said she would shop around for bulk-billing practices next time she needed an appointment for herself.

This week NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Victorian Premier Dan Andrews pushed for Medicare changes to ease the pressure on GPs and allow more patients access to free consults.

Aaron and Emily Hickey went out of the way to find a good GP when their children were born. Picture: Steve Pohlner

They say the poor access to bulk billing is putting undue pressure on already overwhelmed emergency departments.

“The data shows that GPs try to do the right thing for patients in lower socio-economic areas,” Queensland chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Bruce Willett said.

“GPs are wired to help people and they want to make the appointment as affordable as possible for patients they have got to know. But this is why we are seeing so many clinics close as financially it has become too hard.

“The Medicare rebate is half of what it would be if it was fully indexed.

“Bulk-billing rates remain pretty high considering it is not viable for clinics to see patients on the current bulk-billing set up. The country is trading on the compassion of doctors,” he said.