It’s not the first time a politician has called a Medicare-funded service ‘free’, but GPs say it’s emblematic of a larger issue.
Member for Dickson Ali France incurred the ire of GPs this week by suggesting that Medicare-funded menopause checkups would be “free”, with one former RACGP president calling it a “bad error about how the finances of general practice work”.
The official Facebook page for Ms France, who is one of Australia’s newest members of parliament, put up a post on Wednesday spruiking Medicare’s recently added menopause health assessment item.
The post itself originally read: “you can now get a free Medicare peri-menopause or menopause checkup at your GP. #Labor”.
GPs in the comment section were quick to point out that the decision to bulk bill or charge a gap was up to the individual doctor or practice.
One commenter said they were “disappointed to see this blatantly untrue message” and asked Ms France to update the post before “every woman reading it inundates my practice asking for their ‘free consult’ and I have to tell them that they have been misled”.
“Happy to have a chat with you and discuss what goes on in these consultations,” a comment written by past AMA Queensland president Dr Maria Boulton said.
“They are complex as we need to discuss menopause/perimenopause, symptoms, address many body systems, check preventive screens are up to date, assess risk factors, do a medical exam, etc.
“You can look up the MBS item descriptor for some to the detail. You will then understand the Medicare rebate is woefully low to cover the time patients need and deserve.”
The post was eventually updated to read: “You can now get a Medicare rebate for peri-menopause or menopause checkup at your GP. #Labor”.
Item 695 went live in July and covers a 20-minute menopause and perimenopause GP health assessment for patients experiencing premature ovarian insufficiency, early menopause, perimenopause and menopause.
The rebate for the item is $101.90.
Former RACGP president Professor Karen Price told The Medical Republic that some GPs would still be charging a gap fee for the service.
“The amount the government pays the patient is not sufficient to cover the cost of high quality perimenopausal and menopausal care,” Professor Price said.
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“Most doctors will be working out what those fees should be for the practice and for the patients.
“We all try and look after people, but you’ve also got to make sure the doors stay open, which is looking after the whole practice.”
It was Professor Price who, at the RACGP’s 2021 Annual General Meeting, encouraged GPs to step away from universal bulk billing.
Following her RACGP term, Professor Price has been heavily involved in research into the experience of female GPs.
“I think the issue is that it’s so disappointing to see someone in a respected position of power [like Ms France] make such a bad error about how the finances of general practice work, and particularly in women’s health, where we’ve been told there’s medical misogyny and female GPs are absolutely insulted by comments and things that somehow or other, we’ve been dismissing female patients,” she said.
TMR contacted Ms France’s office for comment.
