What if Medicare was restricted to GPs who bulk-billed? This kind of reform is possible
The time is right to radically alter the Medicare system, says Professor Duckett.
Australia’s health system is under significant pressure. The Labor Government has inherited a system with declining bulk-billing rates for GP visits. These fell from almost 90% of all GP attendances bulk-billed in December 2021 to just over 80% a year later.
Significant workforce shortages remain in rural and remote Australia despite a raft of incentive programs to improve access to healthcare. In 2021/22, about 3.5% of adults did not see a GP because of cost, with higher rates of missed care outside metropolitan areas.
