Bulk-billing rate now at 68% for standard GP consults
The Federal Government will now look for its bulk-billing incentive changes to reverse the trend.
The bulk-billing rate for item 23 has fallen from 76% in July-September 2022 to 67.9% in the corresponding three months of 2023.
The figures are for the last quarter before the advent of the Federal Government’s much-hyped boost for bulk-billing incentives, which began on 1 November.
Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler has said he is confident the changes “will turn around what has been a very sharp decline in bulk-billing rates over the past few years”.
He now has his measuring stick.
