Huge change to Medicare coming for millions of Australians: What you need to know
A $7.9billion Medicare overhaul will kick in on Saturday — allowing millions of Aussies to see their doctor for free.
From November 1, GPs will receive higher bulk-billing incentives to treat all patients with a Medicare card, not just children and concession card holders.
The policy is part of the Albanese government’s $8.5billion Medicare overhaul, a key Labor election promise aimed at cutting out-of-pocket costs for patients and address declining bulk-billing rates.
Hundreds of GP clinics across the country that currently charge gap fees have already indicated they will switch to bulk-billing.
‘We think about 900 practices as of Friday have already indicated to government that this week, they’re charging gap fees and next week, they’ll be a fully bulk billing practice,’ Health Minister Mark Butler said.
‘So, every GP in their practice will bulk bill every single patient that comes through their door.’
Many more clinics are expected to follow suit.
‘A whole lot of practices that I’m sure will be making the decision to do this but just haven’t informed the government yet,’ Butler added.
Boosting bulk-billing rates was a key election pledge of the Albanese government, as part of its planned $8.5billion Medicare overhaul. Pictured is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
The Medicare overhaul will allow millions of Aussies to see their doctor for free
‘We’re very confident there’s going to be a big expansion of bulk billing.’
The incentives are geared towards bringing the number of fully bulk-billed practices in Australia to 4800 – triple the current number.
Bulk-billing rates plummeted to 78 per cent in 2024 – down from 89 per cent in 2020.
The Albanese government has since set a target of making nine out of ten GP visits bulk-billed by the end of the decade.
The overhaul will not only benefit patients, but also the GPs and practices, according to the minister.
‘Two years ago, a full-time, fully bulk-billing GP would have been earning about $280,000 a year after they paid their practice costs,’ Butler added.
‘From this weekend, they’ll be earning $405,000 a year – a $125,000 increase. This investment is obviously good for the Medicare system, good for patients, but it’s also good for GPs themselves.’
However, the government’s announcement has raised questions from doctors’ groups and the Opposition, who argue there is little evidence the shift will be as widespread as claimed.
Hundreds of GP clinics are expected to switch to bulk billing within days, according to health Minister Mark Butler (pictured)
During Senate estimates earlier this month, Health Department officials admitted there is no formal benchmark to measure the policy’s success until after the next election.
Officials added that it could take up to four years for most clinics to fully transition to bulk-billing.
A joint ABC and Royal Australian College of GPs survey earlier this year found only a small fraction of doctors believed they could afford to bulk bill more patients under the new incentives.
Many cited rising costs, low rebates and staffing shortages as ongoing pressures on general practice.
Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston accused Labor of overstating the policy’s impact and misleading voters with its promise that GP visits would be ‘free’.
‘Anthony Albanese told Australians they’d only need their Medicare card, not their credit card,’ Ruston said.
‘But the government doesn’t expect to reach its targets until after the next election, and out-of-pocket costs are still rising.’
Assistant Health Secretary Daniel McCabe also conceded earlier this month that visits would likely become more expensive for those who cannot get a bulk-billed appointment.
‘We will have outlier GPs that are charging higher out-of-pocket expenses and if they continue to do that, the average for those sub-set of patients will be higher for a period of time,’ he told a Senate estimates hearing.
The average out-of-pocket cost for a GP visit was nearly $50 last financial year.
