MedicareM review calls for GP super practices
A MAJOR review of Medicare that calls for patients to enrol with a single GP practice that will become a one-stop shop providing services from nurses, physiotherapists and others might be too late to save primary care.
Health Minister Mark Butler released the government’s Strengthening Medicare Taskforce report on Friday. It calls for Medicare to fund a new long consultation for people with complex mental health, domestic violence and other complex health care needs.
The report stated after hours care must be overhauled to reduce pressure on emergency departments, by increasing the availability of primary care services for urgent needs.
Bulk billing is in decline, patients are paying up to $100 to see a GP and just 14 per cent of medical graduates are training to work in primary care.
Bricks and mortar GPS are having their business stolen by online providers like InstantScripts which use telehealth and online consults to provide electronic scripts.
Three states have allowed trials of pharmacy prescribing, further eroding the income of cash strapped GPS.
As inflation was surging past 7 per cent last July, the Medicare rebate to see a GP increased by just 1.6 per cent (65 cents).
The gap fees charged by a GP now average $42, which is more than the $39.75 Medicare rebate. This has not kept pace with inflation for almost 40 years. However, neither the report nor the Health Minister outlined how the reforms called for would be funded, nor did they provide any detail on how the changes would work.
Doctors have been calling for an immediate increase in the Medicare rebate to save bulk billing and help GP practices stay afloat.