The survey also found 40 per cent of private hospital patients were being slugged with out-of-pocket specialist fees of more than $1000 – and many weren’t informed of all costs in advance.
A noble goal has been turned into a political football,writes Lucy France.
It’s unacceptable that one in six Australians aged 25-34 feel they can’t afford to visit a doctor.
Analysis suggests that extending bulk-billing incentives to under-35s would save young people $42 a visit in average doctor’s fees,while preventing 9000 hospitalisations.
The college said the So Hot Right Now conference,where the headline speaker is high-profile British GP Louise Newson,was no longer deemed eligible to be credited as professional development for GPs.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the collapse of bulk-billing was putting pressure on the state’s hospitals and urged the federal government to prioritise Medicare reform.
Cases of human metapneumovirus have declined in NSW,while health authorities continue to monitor elevated COVID infections over the festive period.
A substantial number of patients who see a GP are suffering a minor ailment or illness that resolves on its own.
Children and older Australians were better off last year under the government’s $3.5 billion boost to bulk-billing. But adults aged 16 to 64 are paying more.
Liberal spokesperson Anne Ruston claims that “the Coalition always has,and always will,invest in Medicare”. Well,except when under Malcolm Fraser they demolished Medibank and opposed any changes to the ramshackle health scheme we had.