Doctors welcome moves to make it cheaper, easier to see a GP but warn further reform is needed

Doctors have warned Labor’s $8.5bn plan to extend bulk-billing incentives will not immediately lead to everyone in Australia getting to go to the doctor for free.

Penny TimmsSENIOR HEALTH REPORTER

2 min read

17 hours ago

Significant pre-election pledges have been made to make it easier and cheaper to see a GP. Picture: iStock.

Doctors have warned Labor’s $8.5bn plan to extend bulk-billing incentives will not immediately lead to everyone in Australia getting to go to the doctor for free, as the medical sector pushes both parties to support more reform at the upcoming election.

A re-elected Labor government says it would inject $8.5bn into bulk billing and training to boost the number of healthcare workers. It says that would mean nine out of 10 GP visits are bulk-billed by 2030.

Labor says it would expand the bulk-billing incentive to all Australians from November, and introduce measures to better incentivise GPs to offer bulk billing to patients in the first place. To do that, it would introduce a new incentive payment for practices that bulk-bill every patient, and practices that fully bulk-bill patients would receive an additional 12.5 per cent loading payment on their Medicare rebates.

It would also boost the primary care workforce by funding an additional 400 nursing scholarships for two years, and boost training places and incentives for junior doctors to encourage an additional 2000 GPs to enter the field per year, by 2028.

Royal Australian College of GPs president Michael Wright said Medicare had been underfunded for far too long and such an investment would be welcome, as would efforts to strengthen the medical workforce.

But he warned it is not a given that all GPs would take up the incentives. “Extending bulk-billing incentives to everyone won’t necessarily mean everyone gets bulk-billed, because patient rebates are still too low to cover the cost of care,” Dr Wright said.

“Ultimately, we need to make sure GPs are enabled to deliver high-quality care that is sustainable and doesn’t put unreasonable pressure on practitioners to see people quickly or make it harder for people to get more time with their GP.”

He would like to see Labor’s commitment go a step further and include a 25 per cent increase to patient rebates for mental health and a 40 per cent increase to patient rebates for longer consults.

“More targeted funding to support people with chronic and complex conditions is still the most cost-effective way to improve Australia’s healthcare system,” Dr Wright said.

RACGP president and Sydney GP Dr Michael Wright. Tuesday 28/01/2025. Picture by Max Mason-Hubers

Those sentiments were echoed by Australian Medical Association president Danielle McMullen, who said the neglect of Medicare by successive governments meant the patient rebate “no longer bears any relationship to the actual cost of providing high-quality services to patients”.

“This funding package will help address affordability issues for many vulnerable and disadvantaged Australians who do not currently qualify for bulk-billing incentives,” she said.

“But greater support for patients with more complex needs can’t afford to be ignored. We need a rethink of Medicare rebates to ensure today’s patients who have increasingly complex needs get the care they require. Today’s patients have more chronic disease, more mental illness, and our population is ageing.

“Australians need more time with their GP, but the structure of Medicare encourages shorter consultations, meaning many patients face out-of-pocket costs.”

Both sides of politics are making significant healthcare pledges ahead of the next election. Picture: iStock

Rural Doctors Association chief executive Peta Rutherford said the commitment would be a win for rural communities, which experience far poorer health outcomes. She would also like to see part of the money earmarked specifically for getting more new doctors to practise in rural and remote areas.