Report highlights need for better rebates on longer GP consults

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Rising costs to see a doctor has led to a doubling of the number of people avoiding a check-up. That's just one of the findings outlined in a new report into the healthcare system and GPs claim they are absorbing more of the costs.

Transcript

00:00Your blood pressure is mostly in range.

00:04From his consulting rooms in Mount Druitt on Sydney's western fringe, Dr Lim reviews

00:09data that his patient collected at home.

00:12If I've got a monitor at home, I don't have to be up here getting monitored.

00:16Biggest risk of having strokes and heart attacks is blood pressure.

00:20Seventy-seven-year-old Yvonne Stretton recently ended up in hospital because her blood pressure

00:25spiked.

00:26I don't like being in hospitals, I hate being in hospitals.

00:29She now monitors her blood pressure three times a day and sends the data to Dr Lim's

00:34clinic.

00:35If needed, he can adjust his patient's treatment.

00:38And therefore streamline their care and reduce costs not just for the person, but also for

00:42the whole health system.

00:44A report released today by the Royal College of GPs shows patients paid on average nearly

00:49$75 in 2023 for a consultation of up to 20 minutes.

00:54This year, it was more than $78, while the Medicare rebate stayed at $41.40.

01:01What this means for our patients is that their out-of-pocket gap is increasing.

01:06The report says 7% of people now avoid seeing a doctor for financial reasons.

01:12That's twice as many as a year before.

01:15And it shows GPs are taking a hit.

01:18GPs are increasingly managing the chronic health conditions that come along with an

01:22ageing population, as well as a growing number of patients with mental health concerns.

01:27Now those consultations are more complex.

01:30And so the report says that the average time of an appointment is increasing.

01:35We're calling on the government to increase that Medicare rebate by 20% for, especially

01:40for those longer consultations.

01:42Dr Lim would also like to see funding that supports GPs to keep patients out of hospital.

01:49The government says it's made the largest investment in bulk billing in Medicare history,

01:54but acknowledges there is more to do to strengthen the system.

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