GPs missed out on $140 million in a year by not claiming new tripled bulk-billing incentives on eligible consultations, the Department of Health and Aged Care says.

The Federal Government’s “biggest investment in Medicare in over 40 years” saw incentive payments for bulk-billing children and concession card holders rise from around $7 to $21 in cities and from around $13 to $41 in the most remote areas from November 2023.

It saw Medicare pay out around $1.3 billion for bulk-billing incentives in the first nine months of 2024, compared with only $460 million in the corresponding period of 2023.

However, Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler revealed last week that GPs had forgone more than $100 million by failing to claimed the tripled incentives when they could have done so.