Cost of visiting doctor ‘never been more expensive’ as bulk billing numbers plummet

Plummeting bulk billing options and the growing cost to see a doctor have been blamed for a 2.5 million drop in trips to GPs. For many it’s a painful choice: see the doctor or pay the household bills.

A trip to the doctor now leaves Australians almost $45 out of pocket on average, up 5.5 per cent cent compared to a year ago, with cost of living pressures and a lack of bulk billing blamed for the number of visits to GPs nosediving by almost 2.5 million over the last year.

The total number of non-referred GP attendances has dropped to 164,530,525 in the 12 months to June 2024, compared to 166,912,748 a year before – a 1.4 per cent decline.

One in four Australians who did not get a bulk billed appointment were on average $44.89 out-of-pocket after seeing a GP last financial year, up from $42.55 in the previous 12 months, according to new Medicare data released this week.

Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston has accused the Albanese Government of trying to avoid criticism by “quietly” releasing the damning new data that showed “bulk billing is continuing to collapse under their watch”.

“In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, Australian families are feeling the pain of increased out of pocket costs and we know many have been forced to choose between seeing their doctor or paying the bills,” she said.

Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“In the past year, Australians’ access to bulk billed GP services has plummeted.

“At the same time, it has literally never been more expensive to pay for a non-bulk billed appointment.”

Dr Nicole Higgins, president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), said the cost of operating GP practices was growing alongside “ten years of a lack of investment by successive governments in general practice”.

“Costs are increasing for GPs … because we face the same cost of living pressures as everyone else, with staff, electricity and payroll tax, and that’s being passed on to patients,” she said.

Doctors working in the community also laid the drop in GP visits on cost of living pressures on families.

“I really think it’s the financial cost and pressures of living – in north east and south east Sydney there’s almost no bulk billing or low billing clinics anymore, it’s almost $50 a visit like the report said,” Dr Rebekah Hoffman, the chair of the NSW and ACT RACGP who runs two practices in the Sutherland Shire, said.

Dr Rebekah Hoffman, GP at Kirrawee Family Medical Practice, said cost of living pressures were putting the crunch on families visiting GPs. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

She added over the past year she was seeing more families trying to squeeze multiple children or family members into a single appointment.

“What I’m hearing from my patients is it’s the cost,” she said.

Health authorities point towards the Covid-19 pandemic – and vaccination appointments counting as GP visits – for the drop off in trips to the doctor over the last year.

Health Minister Mark Butler said more recent health data showed since Labor tripled the bulk billing incentive in November there had been three million additional GP visits, including 900,000 extra in June alone.

“This year’s increase to Medicare rebates is the second-largest increase in the past 30 years, the largest increase was last year,” he said.

Mr Butler said prior to Labor’s intervention bulk billing figures were “in free fall” after nine years of a Coalition government.

Originally published as Cost of visiting doctor ‘never been more expensive’ as bulk billing numbers plummet