A Department of Health, Disability and Ageing campaign promoting bulk billing is coming to a TV screen near you.
Brochures, posters and fact sheets for a new Department of Health, Disability and Ageing campaign will carry the tagline “Medicare’s got the bill” and link to a map of universal bulk-billing practices.
The campaign, which is promoting the expanded bulk-billing incentives and the new Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program, will be running across television, social media, digital, print and search channels.
Specific assets provided by DoHDA include a poster featuring a patient at the reception desk of a GP clinic sporting the mandatory ‘bulk billing practice’ signage alongside the “Medicare’s got the bill” tagline.
“With increased government funding, more GPs are making bulk billing more accessible for all Australians,” additional text on the poster reads.
A fact sheet developed by DoHDA for the campaign includes references to bulk-billed appointments as “free”.
“Bulk billing means you don’t pay anything when you see a GP, because Medicare covers the full cost of the service,” the fact sheet reads.
Related
“This allows Medicare-eligible patients to access free health care, making it easier to get the care you need, when you need it.
“Not all GPs bulk bill all the time.
“It’s up to your doctor to decide whether they bulk bill a service. However, at Medicare Bulk Billing Practices, all Medicare-eligible patients can access bulk-billed appointments.”
It adds that attending a bulk-billing practices could save patients and their families “hundreds of dollars a year in out-of-pocket costs”.
“Before you see a GP, it’s a good idea to check if they are a Bulk Billing Practice, or ask if they will bulk bill you or if there will be any out-of-pocket costs,” the fact sheet read.
According to the campaign website, there are 2945 GP clinics signed up to the bulk-billing PIP.
The biggest cluster of these universal bulk billers, comprising roughly 900 clinics, is around the greater Sydney area.
Melbourne is the second-largest cluster, with around 700 bulk billers.
Brisbane is a distant third place with about 200 bulk-billing clinics registered on the site.
