The Prime Minister has made his biggest election promise yet with a pledge to make GP visits free for most Aussies if he’s re-elected.
On Sunday Anthony Albanese will announce a $8 billion plan to expand its bulk billing incentive to all Australians.
The Labor government will aim to have nine out of ten GP visits being bulk billed by 2030 under the new plan.
‘Labor built Medicare, we will protect it and improve it for all Australians,’ Mr Albanese said in a statement before the announcement.
‘I want every Australian to know they only need their Medicare card, not their credit card, to receive the healthcare they need.
‘No Australian should have to check their bank balance to see if they can afford to see a doctor. That is not who we are. That is not the future we want for Australia.’
Bulk billing is when the charge of a GP appointment is fully covered by Medicare as opposed to the patient.
This effectively makes the appointment free for anyone who is already struggling with the cost of living.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged Medicare’s biggest investment since its inception if he is re-elected in the upcoming federal election
‘This is a policy that lifts up our entire nation and ensures no one is held back, and no one is left behind,’ Mr Albanese said.
‘It will make Medicare even stronger, help with cost of living pressures and ensure every Australian receives the best health care that they deserve.’
It comes after Labor’s main 2023 budget policy targeted GP visits for younger Aussies and the elderly, investing $3.5billion to triple the incentive paid to doctors when they bulk billed those age groups.
The policy resulted in a modest reprieve for the target groups.
Bulk billing rates for children aged under 15, and old people over 65, both increased slightly from 2023 to 2024, by two per cent and one per cent respectively.
But the rate for working Aussies went down, with a two per cent drop from 2023 to 2024. And by the end of 2024, the rates for all Aussies were lower than they had been in 2022 when Labor came to power.
Increasingly, GP appointments have come with a gap fee which means the government or Medicare only pay a portion of the bill.
In these cases the patient is still left with an out-of-pocket expense of their own, which can vary.
Health Minister Mark Butler slammed Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s record as health minister in 2014
Today a standard GP consultation costs $92.85 but in many cases Medicare only covers $42.85 which means the patient has to pay the $50 gap.
Labor is touting the promised investment as the largest in Medicare’s 40-year history.
In the joint announcement, Health Minister Mark Butler slammed Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s record as health minister in 2014.
‘Labor will put back into Medicare every dollar that Peter Dutton’s rebate freeze took out,’ Mr Butler said.
‘Australia’s doctors voted Peter Dutton the worst Health Minister in Medicare history for a reason.
Labor’s new Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program promises to triple the bulk billing incentive for every Australian.’
If re-elected the party will implement its plan from November 1.
