Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week I dropped into the Riverlink Medical & Dental Centre in Ipswich to celebrate the Albanese Labor government's massive expansion of bulk-billing. On 1 November our historic investment to strengthen Medicare kicked in, with bulk-billing incentives to GPs for every patient they bulk-bill and extra incentives for practices which bulk-bill every patient. This is the single biggest investment in Medicare in over 40 years and delivers on Labor's signature election commitment.

Currently, around 83 per cent of GP services in Blair are bulk-billed, and at least nine clinics have said they will become fully bulk-billing clinics, thanks to our new incentives. Riverlink Medical & Dental Centre are one of these practices, and last year they saw nearly 87,000 people in my local area for health services. They're the home of the Medicare urgent care clinic as well, which has seen nearly 30,000 patients. The practice estimates that moving to 100 per cent bulk-billing will save our local community more than $238,000 every year. It was great to drop in with the local state MP, Wendy Bourne—the member for Ipswich West—to chat with patients and to thank the hardworking local staff there. We're making it easier to see a doctor and providing significant cost-of-living relief for locals. All you need is your Medicare card—not your credit card.