Australians tell ABC's Your Say bulk-billing and dental coverage in Medicare will sway their vote this election

24 April 2024
ABC News

In elections, health is huge. In every way.   :)

It's always near the top of voter concerns — and the sheer scope of the way it touches our lives is unlike any other part of government.



Australia's Medicare system of universal health care is popular. That's why Anthony Albanese is constantly flashing a Medicare card on the campaign trail, and the Coalition wasted little time matching Labor's campaign promises on Medicare spending. 

Anthony Albanese holds up a Medicare card as he speaks animatedly.
A Medicare card has made a frequent appearance during Anthony Albanese's campaign. (ABC News:)

Australia's Medicare system of universal health care is popular. That's why you're seeing this on the campaign.

Your Say is telling us Australians want Medicare to work. And also telling us where it doesn't. So let's look at a few, and start at the top — bulk-billing.

Bulk-billing
There are times when my husband or I are unwell but have had a tough month so we can't afford to go to our GP and pay $48 for a visit. — Kylie, Melton, Vic

Bulk-billing is at the core of what it means to have a universal health care system — that you shouldn't have to pay to see a GP.

But finding one has been getting harder.

Last year, 78 per cent of doctors bulk-billed their patients — down from a high of nearly 90 per cent five years ago.

It's highest in low-income areas — where it should be — at nearly 90 per cent. 

But it can still be difficult to find, especially in the bush.

My regular doctor who used to bulk-bill me has moved cities and the other doctors at the practice won't — which leaves me short of food on the fortnights I need script renewals. — Shaun, Deeragun, Qld

A doctor using a stethoscope on a patient.
The number of bulk billing GPs has dropped over the past five years, especially in rural areas. (ABC News:)

So what are the parties offering on bulk-billing?

Labor

$8.5 billion to Medicare
90 per cent bulk-billing by 2030
400 nursing scholarships
2,000 new GP trainees a year by 2028
50 new urgent care clinics
$573 million women's health
$25 cap on PBS medicines
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Labor has promised $8.5 billion to Medicare, which it says is the single largest investment in the scheme since it was created in 1984.

That will go towards a target of 90 per cent bulk-billing by 2030 — with more incentives for doctors to bulk-bill more patients, and train more doctors and nurses, and more urgent care clinics.

But doctors say that still won't be enough to reach the government's target of 90 per cent.

Labor has also committed $573 million to women's health, and promised to cap the price of PBS medicines at $25.

Coalition

$8.5 billion to Medicare
$573 million women's health
$25 cap on PBS medicines
The Coalition quickly matched Labor's promises on Medicare, women's health, and medicines.

Greens   :)

$195 billion to Medicare
Mental health included
Dental care included
The Greens are pitching a massive expansion of Medicare — nearly $200 billion over 10 years — to fully include mental health and dental care for the first time.

Where would the money come from? According to the Greens policy statement, from taxing big companies.   :)

"Right now, one in three corporations pay no tax. By making big corporations pay their fair share, we can expand Medicare, reduce out-of-pocket costs, and ensure all Australians have access to the healthcare services they deserve."

Read more about health and the federal election:
Survey suggests most GPs won't exclusively bulk-bill even with Medicare promises
What the major parties' health pledges mean for you
Voters swayed by cost of GP, dentist visits and the mental health crisis
Dental
If the government is serious about reducing the cost of healthcare in Australia, they need to introduce universal dental care to all Australians. — Bridgette, Casuarina, NT   :)

Dental has come up a lot in Your Say, and the Greens have been campaigning hard on their platform to fully include dental health in Medicare.

But dental doesn't get a mention in the health platforms of either Labor or the Coalition.   :(

As for putting dental into Medicare, Labor says … one day.

A dental chair seen from above.
The Greens want dental to be covered by Medicare but neither of the major parties have addressed it this election. (ABC News:)

We want the doctor, and the dentist that does the Bulk-billing.   :(

I’m with you but there are very very good reasons why the government fears too act with dental.

A quick look at “ care plans” .

If you actually qualified for one you could, for example, gain five free visits to a physiotherapist.

As happened in every professionals business. People would miss appointments.

But of course the health professionals still got ( via) the taxpayer paid for services not received.

There has been a very, very quiet crackdown on this and of course not one health professional was charged with larceny or ask repay the millions that they stole.

Opening up bulk billing dentist would become a much, much bigger rort.

You show far too much trust in human behaviour.

A dentist will drill a hole in a good tooth just to fill the it and charge you a extra $150 on top the exam fee.

Does anyone really believe these “ people “ wouldn’t take full advantage of being able too bulk bill and inflated health issues for their own personal $$$$$$$ gain?

What planet do you live on?

Daves2017 wrote on Apr 27^th, 2025 at 2:44pm:

I’m with you but there are very very good reasons why the government fears too act with dental. A quick look at “ care plans” . If you actually qualified for one you could, for example, gain five free visits to a physiotherapist. As happened in every professionals business. People would miss appointments. But of course the health professionals still got ( via) the taxpayer paid for services not received. There has been a very, very quiet crackdown on this and of course not one health professional was charged with larceny or ask repay the millions that they stole. Opening up bulk billing dentist would become a much, much bigger rort. You show far too much trust in human behaviour. A dentist will drill a hole in a good tooth just to fill the it and charge you a extra $150 on top the exam fee. Does anyone really believe these “ people “ wouldn’t take full advantage of being able too bulk bill and inflated health issues for their own personal $$$$$$$ gain? What planet do you live on?

How about dental floss, toothpaste and mouth wash subsidised by Medicare?

A free dental hygiene pack from your local pharmacy, every three months?

Bulk billing has gone down under Albo and Labor.

My local GP stopped bulk billing last year.
The only people who get bulk billed in my area are those on welfare with HCC.


Quote:

Hundreds of GP clinics have started charging some, or all, patients for consultations in the past few years, leaving patients checking their bank balance before they book an appointment. Figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show about 77 per cent of GP visits are currently bulk-billed. While that is a drop from 40-year high of 89 per cent in 2020 at the peak of COVID https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-26/medicare-bulk-billing-gp-data/104973452

Bulk billing has gone down under Labor.

Albo is a typical con man in offering to fix a problem he created.

Everyone wants everything for free and it just doesn't work that way. Look at Norway and Sweden. They have a high income tax rate, but for that you get almost all public services free, including healthcare. Now, the government of the day here could offer the same thing, but I very much doubt that people would be willing to sacrifice more of their pay in order to have more things for "free".

Baronvonrort wrote on Apr 27^th, 2025 at 10:32pm:

Bulk billing has gone down under Albo and Labor. My local GP stopped bulk billing last year. The only people who get bulk billed in my area are those on welfare with HCC. Quote: Hundreds of GP clinics have started charging some, or all, patients for consultations in the past few years, leaving patients checking their bank balance before they book an appointment. Figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show about 77 per cent of GP visits are currently bulk-billed. While that is a drop from 40-year high of 89 per cent in 2020 at the peak of COVID https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-26/medicare-bulk-billing-gp-data/104973452 Bulk billing has gone down under Labor. Albo is a typical con man in offering to fix a problem he created.

He still has not built anywhere near as many GP Super Clinics that he promised he would at the last election. Still waiting on the electricity bill relief. He has nothing in his campaign other than running a campaign of lies and scares. He is blatantly lying about the cost of nuclear, because the Coalition used the same company Labor uses to come up with their nuclear costings.

Baronvonrort wrote on Apr 27^th, 2025 at 10:32pm:

Bulk billing has gone down under Albo and Labor. My local GP stopped bulk billing last year. The only people who get bulk billed in my area are those on welfare with HCC. Quote: Hundreds of GP clinics have started charging some, or all, patients for consultations in the past few years, leaving patients checking their bank balance before they book an appointment. Figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show about 77 per cent of GP visits are currently bulk-billed. While that is a drop from 40-year high of 89 per cent in 2020 at the peak of COVID https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-26/medicare-bulk-billing-gp-data/104973452 Bulk billing has gone down under Labor. Albo is a typical con man in offering to fix a problem he created.

Bulk billing went down under the Coalition Government.  Tsk, tsk, tsk... ::) ::)

Nothing made/produced by others should be free.

Nor is it.

Medicare is not free.  NDIS is not free.

Frank wrote on Apr 28^th, 2025 at 8:15pm:

Nothing made/produced by others should be free. Nor is it. Medicare is not free.  NDIS is not free.

It's not, we pay for it.  Those with more contribute more so everyone is covered.

Baronvonrort wrote on Apr 27^th, 2025 at 10:32pm:

Bulk billing has gone down under Albo and Labor. My local GP stopped bulk billing last year. The only people who get bulk billed in my area are those on welfare with HCC. Quote: Hundreds of GP clinics have started charging some, or all, patients for consultations in the past few years, leaving patients checking their bank balance before they book an appointment. Figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show about 77 per cent of GP visits are currently bulk-billed. While that is a drop from 40-year high of 89 per cent in 2020 at the peak of COVID https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-26/medicare-bulk-billing-gp-data/104973452 Bulk billing has gone down under Labor. Albo is a typical con man in offering to fix a problem he created.

So you support Labor then?

You've acknowledged there is a problem, Labor are proposing a solution unlike the Coalition, so you'll be voting Labor then?

Sure, we know the actual cause of the current structural issues, but if you have to blame it on Labor to at least support the part who will and can fix it, I'm willing to let is slide.

How bout it?

ProudKangaroo wrote on Apr 29^th, 2025 at 10:17am:

Frank wrote on Apr 28th, 2025 at 8:15pm: Nothing made/produced by others should be free. Nor is it. Medicare is not free.  NDIS is not free. It's not, we pay for it.  Those with more contribute more so everyone is covered.

Treasury and Jim Chalmers are using “sleight of hand” concealment tactics to establish one of the most vicious taxes ever conceived by an Australian government – taxing unrealised gains.

And the concealment methods borrow from the extraordinary successful techniques used by former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews. The devastation he left in Victoria is nothing to what will happen to the nation if the Chalmers tax passes the Senate and then spreads.

Before I explain how the Chalmers tax concealment works, I want to detail the techniques Andrews used to fool Victorians. During his decade in office, Andrews embarked on one of the most popular and value for money set of infrastructure projects ever implemented in modern Australia.  Andrews eliminated large numbers of railroad level crossings. And in almost all cases people were thankful because their lives had been improved. He was also the best “one line” political operator in the nation.  The combination of being an excellent political operator and doing something people related to attracted a lot of votes, particularly as the opposition never got its act together.

Now to Chalmers.  After considerable research and community consultation, Chalmers devised a tax of 30 per cent on superannuation income attributed to a person’s superannuation assets above $3m.  There was opposition to the tax, but overall there was widespread community support.  The first Chalmers tax, which can be equated with Andrews level crossings – it ranked as a “good tax” that would help fund major community benefits, particularly in the medical field.

When the tax was first conceived, people naturally thought the 30 per cent on the eligible income would be calculated in the same way as the 15 per cent current tax rate. The $3m cut off point was also to be indexed. But that’s not what Chalmers did. He and Treasury conceived a totally new and vicious tax – the unrealised gains tax – which also would not be indexed.

People who invested in property shares, new ventures etc would be taxed each year on the increase in the value even though they had not sold the asset.  By concealing the “bad tax” with a “good tax” one can assume that the bad tax, which is not indexed, won’t stop at superannuation balances. It will move throughout the community.

The biggest victims will be those trying to develop a new business and asking for capital to help.

Nobody will invest if they have to sell assets to pay for the unrealised gains tax. And if there is a later loss, they must wait for capital profits to get the money back.

Frank wrote on Apr 29^th, 2025 at 10:43am:

ProudKangaroo wrote on Apr 29th, 2025 at 10:17am: Frank wrote on Apr 28th, 2025 at 8:15pm: Nothing made/produced by others should be free. Nor is it. Medicare is not free.  NDIS is not free. It's not, we pay for it.  Those with more contribute more so everyone is covered. [b]Treasury and Jim Chalmers are using “sleight of hand” concealment tactics to establish one of the most vicious taxes ever conceived by an Australian government – taxing unrealised gains.

So it's not free then, it's being paid for?

Thanks.

It's a Mediscare Campaign.

There have been more hospital rationalisations and service reductions under Labor Govts both at Federal and state levels.

In most states the lack of beds and ambulance ramping problems have occurred under Labor Govts.

These so called "satellite" hospitals they're building are a farce.

Put the money back into the existing hospital system so the can increase bed and staff numbers.

ProudKangaroo wrote on Apr 29^th, 2025 at 10:45am:

Frank wrote on Apr 29th, 2025 at 10:43am: ProudKangaroo wrote on Apr 29th, 2025 at 10:17am: Frank wrote on Apr 28th, 2025 at 8:15pm: Nothing made/produced by others should be free. Nor is it. Medicare is not free.  NDIS is not free. It's not, we pay for it.  Those with more contribute more so everyone is covered. [b]Treasury and Jim Chalmers are using “sleight of hand” concealment tactics to establish one of the most vicious taxes ever conceived by an Australian government – taxing unrealised gains. So it's not free then, it's being paid for? Thanks.

You didn't understand the post.
It's not unusual, as Tom Jones says.

Frank wrote on Apr 29^th, 2025 at 10:56am:

ProudKangaroo wrote on Apr 29th, 2025 at 10:45am: Frank wrote on Apr 29th, 2025 at 10:43am: ProudKangaroo wrote on Apr 29th, 2025 at 10:17am: Frank wrote on Apr 28th, 2025 at 8:15pm: Nothing made/produced by others should be free. Nor is it. Medicare is not free.  NDIS is not free. It's not, we pay for it.  Those with more contribute more so everyone is covered. [b]Treasury and Jim Chalmers are using “sleight of hand” concealment tactics to establish one of the most vicious taxes ever conceived by an Australian government – taxing unrealised gains. So it's not free then, it's being paid for? Thanks. You didn't understand the post. It's not unusual, as Tom Jones says.

You're running from reality again, what's new pussy cat...

Labor’s centrepiece Medicare policy promising most patients will be able to see a doctor for free has been described as “smoke and mirrors” by the national association of general practice management.

The Australian Association of Practice Management is the peak professional body that supports effective administration in thousands of GP surgeries.

Many of its members have provided feedback they will not become a fully bulk-billing practice as a result of extra incentives on the table for GPs.

The association has joined peak medical groups in casting doubt on the idea that most practices will be financially better off if they bulk bill all patients, and also questions political messaging that patients will be able to see a doctor for free.



“That will not be the reality because there’s no such thing as free. It’s a nice vision and a nice political sell, but we are in the business of being practical,” AAPM chief executive Miranda Grace said.

“The idea that all you will need is your Medicare card to get free doctors’ visits – I think that is a beautiful dream to have but I don’t know how that’s going to translate in reality. I think it’s going to be a huge challenge.  A lot of practitioners bulk bill now based on particular patient needs and depending on the community they serve.  However, to make people think that everybody’s just going to walk around with their Medicare card and just get free healthcare, I think, it’s actually really a misinformed statement.  “I would say the policy needs more consideration. It’s all a bit of smoke and mirrors at the minute, a bit of a utopian sort of vision.”

The warnings came as the Prime Minister criticised the Australian Medical Association’s track record on Medicare during his final press club speech, when quizzed over the viability of his flagship policy.  “The AMA haven’t always been great fans of the whole concept of Medicare. That’s the truth. So we’re not shocked that occasionally not every doctor comes on board there. But the reason why we are so confident is because this is not some academic exercise,” Mr Albanese said in Canberra on Wednesday.