Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Apologies for my voice—I probably need to see a GP. That is the topic of my adjournment speech this afternoon. It's no secret to any of us, particularly those in regional electorates, that it's hard to see a GP. The gap fee is deterring many from being able to see a GP. It is fair to say that right now we are going through a primary healthcare crisis. This isn't a crisis that just started in May last year when the election happened—it has been slowly building over the past decade. Locals medical practitioners who have worked as GPs in our community for decades have been saying to me that this is the worst they've seen it. And the statistics don't lie. Last December, I reported to the House that our largest primary healthcare clinic with our largest patient list—with over 1,700 patients from Bendigo—would be introducing the private fee model. GPs had to choice to bulk-bill, and it was a GP decision in discussion with their patient. What that meant was that many in that clinic moved to the private billing model. Quickly, there was a collapse in people going to see their doctor, with many ending up around the corner at the Bendigo Emergency Department. What I can say is that a lot of the GPs there did continue to bulk-bill, patient by patient. They reported to me just last week that about 40 per cent of the consults they had are still bulk-billed.

What we see happening in Bendigo and in regional GP services around Australia, because the Medicare bulk-billing incentive is currently so low, is that GPs are subsidising our primary care service. Right now, what a GP in Bendigo receives if they bulk-bill a patient is just under $50—$39.75 is the Medicare rebate, and just over $10 is the bulk-billing incentive. That is why what was announced by the government in the May budget is so fundamental.

The average out-of-pocket expense someone in my electorate pays to see a GP is $36.79. This is the critical figure that is deterring many from seeing a GP—otherwise, they are choosing to see a GP, pay the out-of-pocket expense, and not pay for other things they may need. Bendigo is a growing city and our GP clinics are struggling to keep up, to manage patient loads, to manage the desperation for patients begging to be bulk-billed, and to balance the viability of their own services. The emergency department at Bendigo Health has report a 13 per cent increase in the number of people presenting. Patients are waiting up to 12 hours to be treated. The Bendigo Emergency Department also reported the highest percentage of category 4 and 5 presentations in Victoria. Something has to change.

That is why the announcements that were made in the budget are so critical and will make such a difference. It is the biggest investment in Medicare in 40 years. The tripling the bulk-billing incentive will knock out the gap fee for so many patients. From 1 November, when these changes take place, if somebody sees a GP who agrees to bulk-bill them—concession card holders or children—the new Medicare rebate will be $41.40 and the new bulk-billing incentive will be $31.40, meaning that, in total, the GP will receive $72.80. That's a 46 per cent increase on GPs are currently receiving to bulk-bill that same patient. From 1 November this change will restore bulk-billing in my electorate. It improves as you get further out of town, into Castlemaine, Kyneton, Heathcote and Maldon. Because they are smaller regional towns, they will receive more of an incentive. I really welcome these changes and I say to the people of Bendigo and to the GPs: I really hope that this is the worst that it gets.

This one measure in our budget will help restore bulk-billing to so many in our community, but the work can't stop there. We don't have access to an emergency care clinic in Bendigo. It is something that I'm writing to and asking the Minister for Health about—another measure that will help reduce pressure on the Bendigo Health Emergency Department.