Sydneysiders are currently shelling out an average of $50 for a GP visit, despite a notable increase in bulk-billing practices nationwide.
Recent findings from the healthcare directory Cleanbill highlight a remarkable shift in the number of clinics offering bulk billing services.
Over the past year, the percentage of GP clinics providing bulk billing has more than doubled, reaching approximately 40% across Australia.
Among the 2,342 clinics surveyed, 52% now offer bulk billing, a significant rise from just a third last year, marking one of the most impressive improvements in the country.
So, what’s behind this transformation?
James Gillespie, Chief Executive of Cleanbill, explains that as of November 1, the government increased the funding for clinics that fully commit to bulk billing. This financial incentive has made it more economically viable for many clinics nationwide to adopt a comprehensive bulk-billing model.
But the news isn’t as good at clinics that don’t bulk bill.
The average out-of-pocket cost for visiting those GPs in New South Wales has jumped from $44 last year to more than $50 this year – up almost 15 per cent.
And it seems Sydneysiders are bearing the brunt.
“GP clinics in cities actually receive lower incentives than GP clinics in regional and rural areas which means that if you have a state like NSW that has a large regional population with a lot of GP clinics, those GP clinics are more likely to have switched to fully bulk billing because they’re receiving more incentive to do so.”
Overall NSW and the Northern Territory has over 50 percent of GP clinics which bulk bill, just up on the nationwide number of 40 per cent.
Tasmania has gone from having none last year to 37 now.
However the average cost of a consultation there which is not bulk billed is $100, a similar figure to the ACT.
The average out of pocket costs are also highest in Tasmania at almost $68 and lowest in Western Australia at just under $47.
