Many Australians will soon be paying less to see their doctor—but not everyone will feel the benefit straight away.
The government is rolling out a $7.9 billion overhaul of the bulk billing system this weekend, promising cheaper GP visits for Medicare card holders.
But with years of gradual rollout ahead, many patients will have to wait to see the savings.
From 1 November, the federal government will expand bulk billing incentives to cover anyone with a Medicare card.
Previously, only children under 16 or patients with a Commonwealth concession card qualified for the government’s bonus payments to bulk-billing doctors.
The new Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program (BBPIP) will add an extra 12.5 per cent incentive to be shared between doctors and practices that join the scheme.
The overhaul comes in response to falling bulk billing rates, which dropped from a record high of 89 per cent in 2020 to 78 per cent in 2024.
The government aims to lift this back to 90 per cent by 2030, citing both patient access and political strategy as reasons for the change.
Health Minister Mark Butler said that while the rollout would take time, early signs were promising.
'They're going through those numbers, obviously making their own assessment about whether the practice will be better off and whether general practitioners, the GPs that work in their practice, will be better off,' he told reporters.
900 GP practices had committed to moving to full bulk billing from 1 November.
To reach the 90 per cent target, the government says it needs 4800 practices on board, although about a third of these were already fully bulk billing.
'Already a couple of thousand of them have indicated that they're going to do that,' Butler said.
'Now, a number of them are already bulk-billing practices but… almost a thousand of them are practices that this week are charging gap fees, but they've indicated next week they'll be fully bulk billing. I expect there to be a significant number of practices that make that same communication to us over the course of this week before Saturday as well.'
GPs have expressed concern that the 12.5 per cent BBPIP payment favouring both doctors and practices could benefit larger corporate clinics more than smaller providers.
Despite this, Butler insisted the changes would make doctors financially better off.
'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,' he said.
'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.'
What This Means For You
Losing access to affordable GP care has long been a concern for many Australians, but from 1 November, bulk billing incentives will extend to all Medicare card holders, making visits potentially cheaper for more patients.
The new Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program also adds a 12.5 per cent bonus split between doctors and practices, aiming to encourage more clinics to offer bulk-billed appointments.
The government hopes to lift the national bulk billing rate from 78 per cent to 90 per cent by 2030, but full adoption will take years, with only 900 practices committed ahead of launch.
For everyday Australians, this means that while savings are on the horizon, accessing fully bulk-billed GP visits may still require patience as more practices join the scheme.
If you’re curious about what’s really driving these Medicare reforms and how they affect everyday visits to the doctor, there’s more to uncover beyond the numbers.
Some say the new bulk billing changes are a game changer, while others warn that the fine print tells a different story.
To get a closer look at what might be happening behind the scenes, this next piece breaks it all down in plain terms.
Read more: ‘Free’ GP visits? What the government isn’t telling you about the Medicare overhaul
Losing access to affordable GP care can feel frustrating—how ready are you to see your doctor under the new system?
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