Further support for patients to visit GP — but reforms still needed

From today, the eligibility for existing general practice bulk billing incentives will be extended to all Australians, and a new Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program (BBIP) will begin. 

AMA Vice President Associate Professor Julian Rait said this extra investment — worth an estimated $7.9 billion — would provide further support for vulnerable patient groups and equip GPs with more options to minimise out-of-pocket costs for patients. 

“General practice is the first port of call in our health system, with Australia’s highly skilled GPs being the best equipped to provide high-quality, comprehensive primary care for patients,” Associate Professor Rait said. 

“Yet successive previous governments have neglected general practice for years, leading to a situation where our current Medicare system is woefully out-of-date, as rebates were frozen for several years and have not been indexed in line with inflation or the rising cost of delivering care.” 

Professor Rait said while the AMA welcomed the recognition of the need to improve funding and support for general practice and to improve access to care for patients, structural reform of Medicare rebates was desperately needed.  

“We continue to encourage the government to take the next step to increasing Medicare rebates for longer consultations to address the growing complexity of patient care,” Associate Professor Rait said. 

“Patients have increasingly complex care needs, as Australia now has a much higher burden of chronic disease than when Medicare was first invented — therefore, greater investment in longer consultations is vital to keeping people healthy and out of hospital.”  

Professor Rait said practices had been assessing the impact of the new bulk billing arrangements and — given the significant increases in the costs of running a general practice — not all will be in a position to extend bulk billing to more patients, which the government has already acknowledged.  

The AMA is committed to working with the government to improve patient access to care, particularly through support for existing general practices. The solutions will be found in continuing to work collaboratively with GPs to find practical measures that deliver better access to GP care.  

The AMA’s Modernise Medicare campaign calls for a new seven-tier rebate structure to support longer, more comprehensive care.  

The AMA also advocates for increased funding for the Workforce Incentive Program to improve access to nursing and allied health services in general practice — ensuring patients have all their health needs addressed under one roof as part of a GP-led, multi-disciplinary care team.