Australians under 34 would have greater access to free GP visits, bulk-billing rates would be lifted and out-of-pocket costs slashed under a bold plan championed by the nation’s doctors, as the major parties finalise their election pitches before voters head to the polls.
Ahead of a federal election campaign that will largely be fought on cost-of-living issues, the Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) is calling on the major parties to commit to a wide-range of changes including training more doctors, cutting out-of-pocket costs for longer consults and expanding the eligibility of the so-called bulk-billing incentive.
“If our plan is implemented, it will immediately improve access to affordable GP care and ease cost-of-living pressures,” RACGP president Michael Wright said.
“All Australians should have affordable access to a GP who knows them.”
The bulk-billing incentive is an additional payment encouraging doctors to directly bill Medicare for a service, meaning the patient does not have any out-of-pocket costs.
The incentive was tripled by Labor in 2023, but currently only applies to children under 16 and concession card holders.
The RACGP wants that expanded to include everyone under 34, saying young Australians aged 25-34 are the most likely to delay care because of the cost.
“That’s why we’re asking for that bulk-billing incentive to be increased for this group, which we think will be a sustainable measure to improve their access so that people aren’t putting off seeing their GP because they can’t afford it,” Dr Wright said.
“And no one should be having to make a choice between paying for their bills or paying for their GP appointment.”
‘It all became pretty impossible’
Sam Thomas was studying in Canberra until recently. (ABC News)
That choice is something Sam Thomas knows all too well.
Until recently the 23-year-old was studying in Canberra, struggling to live off the Youth Allowance payment.
“I would have to consider how badly I needed a GP, and most of the time, it was not badly enough,” they said.
When Sam did have to go to the GP, tough decisions had to be made.
“Visiting a GP cut at the margins so much that I would need to go without food.
“I struggled to focus when I was feeling hungry in class, and I was very regularly getting sick. This exacerbated some existing mental health conditions, and it all became pretty impossible.“
Sam Thomas has now moved back to where they grew up in the Blue Mountains, finding a doctor who bulk-bills.
“Having a proper universal health service in this country is essential to allow people to just function and survive and not get derailed by bad luck or other circumstances,” they said.
Plan also calls for more affordable mental healthcare and more GPs
The ambitious RACGP plan sets out 19 initiatives, including calls for more federal funding to train 1,500 more GPs over the next five years and for a 25 per cent increase to Medicare rebates for GP mental health items.
The college also wants out-of-pocket costs for GP consults longer than 20 minutes slashed from an average of $59 to $25, which it says would save Australians $268 million.
The RACGP says its plan will deliver an extra 6.2 million bulk-billed GP appointments a year and bring the bulk-billing rate up to 85 per cent.
Dr Wright said while its plan would require a significant federal investment initially, it would save money in the long run.
“I think Medicare has been significantly underfunded for more than a decade, so funding really needs to catch up so that we can deliver high quality care and so it’s affordable for everyone,” he said.
“We do know that there will be some additional upfront investment, but then widespread savings on the health system and it will also reduce costs for patients.
“So we’re reducing the burden on patients, we’re also saving the health system money by reducing the demands on emergency departments, on hospitals, and reducing the pressure that those parts of the health system are already facing.”
Bulk-billing lifts to 77.5 per cent
Health Minister Mark Butler pointed to bulk-billing stats showing there had already been an additional 6 million bulk-billed GP visits between November 2023 and December 2024, on the back of its $3.5 billion move to triple the bulk-billing incentive.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler says more must be done to improve bulk-billing rates. (ABC News: Nick Haggarty)
Nationally, 77.5 per cent of all GP visits were bulk-billed in December 2024, an increase of 1.9 percentage points on October 2023.
“As a government, we urgently moved to protect bulk-billing for those who need to see their GP most often: pensioners, concession cardholders, and families with kids and young teenagers,” Mr Butler said.
“Thanks to our efforts to strengthen Medicare, we’ve got more doctors, we’ve got more bulk-billing, and we’ve got Urgent Care Clinics that have already seen over a million Australians, all fully bulk-billed.
“Our investments are making a meaningful difference, but we know we need to do more to strengthen Medicare.“
Health will be a major focal point of this federal election, with Labor trying to highlight its focus on Medicare and seeking to contrast with the Coalition’s record, noting Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was health minister when the then-Abbott government sought to introduce a highly controversial and politically costly mandatory fee for GP visits, a policy it later backed away from.
Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston said the Coalition had always increased funding for Medicare and would continue to do so if it won the federal election.
“It has never been harder or more expensive for Australians to see a GP than right now under Labor,” she said.
“We are focused on ensuring all Australians have timely and affordable access to the healthcare they need, and we will announce our full suite of health policies in due course.”
