But the move has GP leaders questioning the impact on other businesses, and why community health can’t have a share.
More details have emerged around the federal government’s budget announcement last week that it will splash some $25 million on new bulk-billing clinics in the NSW Hunter and Central Coast regions.
In a joint announcement today, federal health minister Mark Butler said the area has “had issues with bulk billing for a long time”.
“Having six new fully bulk-billing GP clinics will help make healthcare cheaper and more accessible for many in the community,” he said.
The $25.3 million investment over three years will support clinics in the Central Coast, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Hunter regions, with the practices expected to open by mid-2027. They will collectively deliver around 155,000 fully bulk-billed GP services annually, according to the government.
The announcement comes as bulk-billing access remains under pressure in parts of regional NSW, despite broader federal efforts to strengthen Medicare.
In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, average GP bulk-billing rates sit at 66.6%, well below the national average of 81.4%, according to the government.
The move has not attracted the immediate support of the RACGP, however.
“The plans to intervene in Hunter-New England with bulk-billing clinics – look, we’re really concerned about that and the impact that’s going to have on distorting the market,” RACGP president Dr Michael Wright told The Medical Republic last week.
“We’ve said before that if you want to increase the availability of bulk-billed services, the way to do that is to increase Medicare rebates.”
This week the RACGP’s Victorian chair Dr Anita Muñoz drew attention to the plan in her call for the Victorian government to release the controversial Cohealth review, as reported by TMR.
She said the college had noted the federal budget signalled support for general practice, but that a portion of that funding must be explicitly directed to community health services to ensure they remain viable.
“If governments are investing in general practice through increased government bulk billing clinics, a share of that funding must be locked into community health,” Dr Muñoz said.
“It is difficult to accept that the federal government is willing to spend $25 million on six new bulk-billing practices in NSW, where sufficient general practices already exist, and yet continues to refuse definitive funding for the vulnerable patients of Cohealth.
“By its own admission, the MBS is not enough to fund general practice. Paying $25 million for six bulk-billing clinics proves to the community that such clinics could not and would not survive on MBS billings alone.
“If the government will do that for NSW, why will they not do that for Cohealth?”
The new clinics’ locations and operators will be determined through a competitive grants process managed by the Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network, with priority given to communities identified as having the greatest unmet need for fully bulk-billing services, today’s government statement said.
The announcement builds on the government’s broader $8.5 billion Strengthening Medicare package, which includes increases to bulk-billing incentives, expansion of urgent care clinics and measures aimed at boosting primary care access.
Related
Assistant health minister Emma McBride said the clinics would complement other Medicare reforms already underway in the region.
“This builds on our significant investment in Medicare – increasing the bulk billing incentive, cutting the cost of PBS scripts, and opening Medicare Urgent Care Clinics,” she said.
Local MPs linked the investment to growing community concern over rising GP costs and difficulty accessing bulk-billing practices.
Shortland MP Pat Conroy said many patients across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Central Coast were struggling to find practices offering no-gap appointments.
“People across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Central Coast are paying too much just to see a doctor and can’t find one that bulk bills,” he said.
“We know that the Hunter has some of the lowest bulk-billing rates in the country and the problem is a lack of competition.”
Hunter MP and special envoy Dan Repacholi said the fully bulk-billing GP clinics would make a real difference for local communities doing it tough.
“For too many people in places like Toronto, Morisset and Edgeworth, the cost of seeing a doctor has become a barrier to getting care when they need it, which is why this investment to strengthen Medicare is so important for our community,” he said.
Paterson MP Meryl Swanson also welcomed the new clinics.
“We’re already seeing just how important affordable healthcare is in Paterson – with over 12 existing GP practices making the switch to bulk billing, and more than 4800 locals visiting our Maitland Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in the past six months,” she said.
“Our region is one of the fastest growing in New South Wales, and that growth must be matched with investment – ensuring more affordable healthcare services, closer to home, for the people who need them.”
Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon said the availability of bulk-billing clinics in the area was a long-standing issue.
“The lack of access to bulk-billing GPs has been one of the biggest issues raised with me by local families, and it’s something I have advocated strongly for,” she said.
