People with autism are made to feel like we’re ripping off the system. But we know who the real villains are.
In the same year the Albanese government pledged to overhaul the health system,the proportion of GPs who said they bulk billed all their patients halved from 24 to 12 per cent.
The health minister said doctors had called the measure a game changer. But the College of GPs’ president has warned the PM it risks being squandered.
Sam Beitner fraudulently received more than $318,000 from the government by lodging false Medicare claims on behalf of hundreds of patients he never treated.
Paramedics say urgent care is their “bread and butter” and they could help ease the strain if GPs could employ them under Medicare.
Doctors and general practice owners have welcomed a decision by the Queensland government to not subject GPs to extra payroll taxes.
Pharmacists have proposed easing the burden on local GPs by being able to prescribe for things like chronic and dental pain.
Doctors have warned that a new Victorian and NSW payroll tax ruling will hike up the cost of seeing a GP and could “kill off bulk-billing”.
The proposed change acts on a recommendation of the recent Medicare review following reports in this masthead that billions of dollars were leaking from the system each year.
GP clinics are small businesses. We want to help our patients,but altruism is not a sustainable business model. We can’t keep making a loss for bulk-billed consultations.
The $3.5 billion Medicare bulk-billing package has been welcomed by some Australian clinics,but many doctors say out-of-pocket expenses won’t change for metro patients.