Why doctors are dumping bulk billing, millions skip medical appointments

Millions of cash strapped Aussies aren’t going to medical appointments, new research shows. See why and have your say in our poll.

Cash strapped Australians have stopped going to the doctor and the dentist as they scrimp and save to pay their rising mortgage and power bills.

A new survey by insurance comparison website Finder shows one in seven (15 per cent) Australians – equivalent to 3 million people – are skipping medical appointments.

Another one in ten have dropped or reduced their health insurance coverage.

One in seven Aussies are skipping medical appointments to save on money.

The survey of 1,054 showed some Australians were “too broke to be sick”, Finder health insurance expert James Martin said.

“Aussies have been slammed with everything from rising grocery costs and petrol bills to higher home loan repayments and rent,” he said.

“Not having the funds to follow up health concerns could have serious consequences – even greater than an empty bank account,” he said.

Cancelling private health cover can be a risky move, especially if you have a health condition or might need surgery.

“Instead, you could review your existing cover and see if it’s possible to cut any unnecessary cover,” he said.

The survey shows lifestyle spending has taken the biggest hit.

Half of Australians (51 per cent) cut back on eating and drinking out, over a third (36 per cent) have cut back on going out to events such as movies, sports and concerts.

A similar number stopped weekend trips away.

Australians are also cutting back on beauty services, charity donations and streaming subscriptions as their wallets are squeezed

WHY SEEING THE DOCTOR COULD SOON COST YOU MORE

The cost of seeing a doctor is set to rise with half of all GP practices likely to stop bulk billing by July, doctors have warned.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Nicole Higgins said even if the government raised the Medicare rebate in the May Budget, many clinics that had already ceased bulk billing would never start again.

Bulk billing rates have already plunged from nearly 89.4 per cent to 83.4 per cent in the year to September 2022.

Health Department figures show patents who are not bulk billed pay an average $42 gap payment to see a GP.

The government raised the Medicare rebate by just 1.6 per cent while inflation soared to over 7.8 per cent, and doctors said they could no longer afford to employ staff, pay the rent or buy equipment if they bulk billed.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Nicole Higgins. Picture: Supplied

“We’re being asked to do more and more for less and less. GPs can no longer afford to subsidise patient care,” Dr Higgins, who represents the nation’s 27,000 GPs, told the National Press Club.

“You’ve been warned,” she told politicians.

She called for the bulk billing incentive payment paid to GPs to be raised from $9 to $27 for children and the elderly.

The Medicare rebate for long consultations had to be raised by 20 per cent, she said.

The former head of the federal health department, Professor Stephen Duckett, said general practice was in severe crisis after decades of below inflation increases in the Medicare rebate.

Health Minister Mark Butler released a 12-page Medicare reform plan last week but there was no extra funding for the new model of GP care.

The plan calls for multiple health practitioners including doctors, mental health nurses, physiotherapists and dietitians to work together to provide wrap around care for patients.

Professor Stephen Duckett.

Prof Duckett told the National Press Club the government had allocated just $250 million a year for GP reform when billions of dollars was required.

The government should set up an independent tribunal to set future Medicare rebate increases, he said.

To save the health system money, prescriptions should be issued for two months instead of one month, he and Dr Higgins said.

Controversially, Prof Duckett said the Medicare rebates for specialists should be slashed to save money and make general practice a more attractive career.

Three states – NSW, Queensland and Victoria – are already trialling a system where chemists can prescribe some medicines to relieve pressure on general practice.

Prof Duckett and the GP groups said this was a bad idea because pharmacists were not trained in diagnosing illness and it fragmented health care.

The GP may not know their patients were taking drugs prescribed by a chemist, Prof Duckett said.

Originally published as Why doctors are dumping bulk billing, millions skip medical appointments