Mark Butler’s bulk-billing dream likely to come true, says Professor Stephen Duckett
The government's messaging campaign will put pressure on clinics holding off, says the former health department secretary.
Despite doctors’ scepticism, health economist Professor Stephen Duckett has declared that the Federal Government will hit its target of a 90% GP bulk-billing rate by 2030.
From Saturday, all Medicare card holders will be eligible for higher bulk-billing incentives, and practices that universally bulk-bill key Medicare items will receive a 12.5% loading on rebates.
The Federal Government says this will lead to a 90% GP bulk-billing rate by 2030, as well as tripling the number of universally bulk-billing GP practices.
It is a goal that will “probably be achieved”, according to Professor Duckett, former secretary of the federal Health Department and an honorary enterprise professor at the University of Melbourne.
