I was asked why it was needed, and the six-year-long Medicare rebate squeezed general practice finances and has seen bulk-billing rates drop sharply. That's why the centrepiece of last night's Strengthening Medicare package was a $3.5 billion initiative to triple the bulk-billing incentive for GP visits, reviving that beating heart of Medicare. In the cities, this increases the total rebate for a standard GP consult by more than a third, and the increases are even higher in rural and regional Australia.