Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee, , 8:56:24 to 8:59:29
Discussion on why the ACT has significantly lower bulk billing rates compared to surrounding regions and the effectiveness of the triple bulk billing incentive.
Topics: Health, Government spending
Speakers: Senator David Pocock, Mr Duncan McIntyre
Um while while you swap, I just wanted to congratulate you for your work on bulk billing. Some really um encouraging results from what I've I've seen and acknowledge that there's a huge amount of work that's been happening in the department and the government's obviously been uh tipping in more money and and and doing a lot in this space. Uh looks like New South Wales is nearly at 90%, which is a uh a good result. Um but to come uh a bit closer to home in the ACT. Um we're still below 60%. Uh and the areas surrounding the ACT are all comfortably above 80%. Um the bulk billing rates in northeast suburbs of Sydney, like Mosman, uh Vaucluse, Bondi, Point Piper, Bellevue Hill higher than the bulk billing rates here in Canberra. Um looking at the stats, are the states bulk bill their non-concession card holders more than our concession cardholders are bulk build? And I find that that pretty um shocking. Nearly a third of Canberra's 30% have never actually been bulk billed. Um we've seen a tiny increase, I think two and a half per cent um acknowledge that, but on the on the current trajectory, do we expect the ACT to actually get to the 90, the 90 per cent that the Prime Minister has talked about?
Uh Senator Duncan McIntyre, First and Assistant Secretary, Medicare Benefits and Digital Health Division. Uh Senator, um, the bulk billing incentives that uh the government have provided um encourage um clinics and clinicians to uh incentivise them to move their clinics to a situation where they bulk bill all their patients and through the triple bulk billing um incentive uh they have the opportunity to get an uplift for their entire business if they accept that. Um there are specific areas of the country where that's proved to be um uh challenging to incentivise them based on their ability to um uh find other business models that are effective and the ACT has been one where that's been a particular challenge. So we've been uh looking at some of those areas and um uh looking at whether there's other ways to encourage those clinics uh to adopt those. But you're right in saying that the ACT has a lower rate than other parts of the country and accepting those incentives.