‘They’re cannibalising the good GPs’: The RACGP president who led the resistance against mass bulk-billing is not backing down
The fires in the belly of Dr Karen Price show no signs of burning out.
Dr Karen Price made shockwaves as RACGP president back in 2021 when she urged GPs to ditch universal bulk-billing where possible, warning of its impact on the specialty and patient care.
No president before or since had ever been so explicit — perhaps they feared the media and pollies and the ‘greedy doctor’ accusations.
The exhortation was political dynamite. To her supporters, she was responsible for a revolution as GPs made the tough decision to start asking patients to pay out of pocket for the care they provided.
Now, with the arrival on Sunday of the Federal Government’s $8.5 billion flagship election pledge to revive bulk-billing rates, Dr Price is telling the specialty to resist.
