With just over two months until new bulk billing incentives arrive, the health minister continues to insist that the number of universally bulk billing clinics will triple.
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s fabled bulk billing calculator has arrived, allowing individual GP clinics to test whether they will be better off switching to universal bulk billing come November 1.
Announcing the release of the calculator, Health Minister Mark Butler said he was confident that the government’s moves to expand the eligibility of the bulk billing incentive and introduce a bulk billing practice incentive payment would work.
“Already GP practices around the country have said they will move to a fully bulk billing practice,” Mr Butler said.
“Doctors and practices are making the shift because they know it is good for patients, and it is good for their bottom line.
“The calculator will help practices and GPs see how mixed billing practices will be better off when they switch to fully bulk billed.”
DoHDA and Mr Butler continue to predict that bulk billing rates will reach 90% by 2030 and that the number of fully bulk billing practices will triple.
It’s important to note that the bulk billing changes will be two-fold.
While all GPs at all practices will be able to access higher patient rebates when bulk billing an eligible item number, per the expanded bulk billing incentive, only GPs at practices where all doctors agree to universal bulk billing will be able to get the new practice incentive payment.
The bulk billing incentives calculator, which is accessible online, uses existing MBS data to predict the average number of eligible services in each Modified Monash Model location.
It also asks users to acknowledge that DoHDA will “not be liable for any consequential loss” as a result of following the calculator.
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“The accuracy and reliability of the estimates produced by the calculator will also depend on the accuracy and reliability of data you enter into the calculator,” it said.
“The estimates generated by the calculator may not be accurate or free from error.”
Users must input information like the practice’s current billing structure, the percentage of billings paid to the practice, the estimated number of bulk billing PIP services per year, the percentage of services provided to concession card holders and the average private fee per service.
For the average private billing MMM1 GP practice, the calculator estimates an increase in revenue of about $18,000 per year following the November 1 increase, even if the practice made no adjustment to the number of services that were bulk billed (i.e. did not take part in the PIP program).
If the practice were to switch to an entirely bulk billing model, though, the calculator shows that it would likely make about $100,000 less each year, despite collecting additional bulk billing incentive and PIP payments.
In fact, according to the calculator, all clinics with a private billing model – regardless of modified Monash location – were better off staying as private billers and would likely lose money by switching to universal bulk billing.
At the same time, the calculator predicted that all mixed billing clinics would be better off under a universal bulk billing model.
For the average MMM1 mixed billing GP practice, the calculator predicts a $30,000 increase in gross revenue if it were to make no adjustment to the number of services that were bulk billed, or a $47,000 increase in gross revenue if it were to switch to universal bulk billing.
In an MMM1 context, the calculator defines a mixed billing practice as bulk billing about 45% of non-concession card holders for a Level B consult.
At a separate press conference, Mr Butler also announced that practices wishing to participate in the bulk billing PIP would be able to submit expressions of interest from today.
