Led by the college, an open letter to Parliament has outlined a reform push to increase rebates for longer GP consultations.
The fight for appropriate funding for long GP consultations was taken to Canberra today when the RACGP and 20 peak patient bodies knocked on politicians’ doors, pushing the need for reform.
“We’ve got more than 15 million Australians living with chronic and complex health conditions,” RACGP president Dr Michael Wright told The Medical Republic.
“That’s going to increase, and we know that the Medicare rebates for longer consults are inadequate.
“We need to increase them so that people who need more time with their GP aren’t facing higher out of pocket costs.
“We’ve been calling on the government to increase patient rebates, particularly for having targeted investment to increase Medicare rebates for Level C and D by 40%.”
Increased funding will improved diagnosis times, improve care affordability and reduce pressure on hospitals, the RACGP and the other groups argued.
Government investment into bulk-billed care has increased, but this potential reform could bridge the gap caused by a rise in more complex cases.
“More than 20 peak health organisations have signed up to our open letter, which we’re delivering to all the parliamentarians while we’re in Canberra this week,” Dr Wright told TMR.
“It was really powerful to hear from people talking about the importance of having a GP, but particularly the importance of having adequate time with your GP to work through all of your complex health issues.”
The MBS review advisory committee is expected to meet later in the year, with the RACGP expecting an update on potential reforms after that meeting.
The other groups – all of which specialise in chronic and complex conditions in support of GPs being able to provide affordable, collaborative care – include Palliative Care Australia, Parkinsons Australia, Sexual and Reproductive Health Australia, Dementia Australia, MS Australia, the Stroke Foundation, Kidney Health Australia, Diabetes Australia, MND Australia, Rare Voices, the Australian Patient Advocacy Alliance, ANZ Forum for Autoinflammatory Diseases, ausEE Inc, Australian Sickle Cell Advocacy, Emerge Australia, Hidradenitis Suppurativa Australia, Metastatic Breast Cancer Action Australia, Parenteral Nutrition Down Under, Scleroderma Australia, and Sjogrens Australia.
Independent MP Dr Sophie Scamps is also a signatory.
“We can see that as GPs, we’re providing more complex care and a bigger range of care in our practices for our patients,” Dr Wright told TMR.
“Every year we’re doing more, and we’re doing it really effectively.
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“The fact that we have all these peak groups aligning with us is of true recognition of that of our expertise and the value of general practice.”
Dr Scamps said the current Medicare rebates are promoting a “false economy” by only rebating shorter consultations more per minute compared to longer ones.
