Which electorate has the highest GP out-of-pocket costs?
And where do the vast majority of patients pay nothing for their GP care?
20th December 2019
By Kemal Atlay
Two-thirds of all patients are receiving care for free every time they visit their GP, new Medicare data shows.
In the Sydney electorate of Chifley, 97% of patients had all GP visits bulk-billed.
The lowest rate was in the federal seat of Canberra, where one-third of patients faced no co-payment when they visited their GP (see table 1).
The data provided to Senate estimates caused a media stir this week because it showed that between 2012-13 and 2018-19, average out-of-pocket costs for GP attendances not bulk-billed increased by 32% to an average of $37.62.
The average fees for non-GP specialists jumped by 46% to $83.07 over the same period.
Table 1
| Proportion of patients with all GP non-referred attendances |