A website for patient submissions on out-of-pocket fees has stirred up tension on the state of bulk billing.
Opposition health spokesperson Senator Anne Ruston is putting the pressure on the Albanese government when it comes to out-of-pocket costs for general practice.
Senator Ruston has launched of a new website called How Much Do You Pay? aimed at tracking how much patients are paying to see their GPs.
Senator Ruston said the website’s purpose was not to put pressure on GPs but instead provide patient inputs to place more pressure on the Labor government.
“We want to hear directly from Australians about their real experiences when they visit their family doctor,” Senator Ruston told The Medical Republic.
“Labor is lying to Australians by telling them they can ‘see a GP for free’ while it is overseeing the highest average GP out-of-pocket costs on record, which we know are only expected to rise.
“Our health system is in crisis because of Anthony Albanese.
“We stand side by side with GPs who are largely small, family businesses dealing with the rising cost of doing business under Labor, including increasing energy bills, rent and red tape.”
The website reads:
“Anthony Albanese promised Australians that ‘all you need is your Medicare card, not a credit card’ and that it would be ‘free to see a GP’.
“He made this promise at least 71 times. But the fact is: nearly one in four GP visits now cost you money because bulk billing has collapsed by 11% under Labor.”
So far, the website is submission only, with no formal data from the website having been published as of reporting.
Bulk billing has seen its fair share of turbulence this year coming out of an election that made it the mainstay of the Albanese victory, with the latest Medicare data showing that this may have already stagnated.
The June quarter’s bulk-billing rate was 79.2%, which fell to 77.6% by the end of the September quarter.
Last year produced near-identical results for each quarter which indicates that yearly rates are potentially stagnating.
No updates have been made to Senator Ruston’s website since its launch on 31 October with the only submissions posted thus far having been used as part of social media promotion.
The bulk-billing reforms introduced on 1 November are expected to have an effect on rates but would not be entirely clear until the end of the March 2026 quarter, as the December quarter will show a full month without the reform.
