GP co-payment by stealth as prescription medicine costs rise   
May 4, 2016
Herald Sun

THE dreaded GP co-payment has risen from the grave in the Federal Budget with a doctor’s visit likely to cost up to $39 at the same time as prescription medicine prices rise by $5 from January.

Medicare rebates will be frozen at $37 for six years until 2020 to save the Government nearly $1 billion in a move that is likely to force doctors to abandon bulk billing.   


The freeze is expected over time to cost a typical GP over $15,000 a year as they face rising wages bills and rents but no increase in Medicare income.


Former prime minister Tony Abbott declared his unpopular $7 GP co-payment “dead, buried and cremated” in 2014.

This Budget measure, however, is certain to force many GPs to abandon bulk billing and start charging their patients a fee to cover their rising practice costs.   

Medicare rules will force GPs to charge patients a full fee upfront and patients will have to claim back the $37 Medicare rebate to offset the charge.


The AMA recommended fee for a doctors visit is $76 and if doctors charge this amount a doctor’s visit could leave patients $39 out of pocket after the Medicare rebate is claimed.

Patients are also likely to face higher out-of-pocket charges for medical specialists as a result of the freeze.

The introduction of doctors charges will be accompanied by a hike in prescription costs with the Government pressing ahead with plans to raise prescription costs by $5 for general consumers from January 1.

Pensioners will face an 80 cent rise in prescription fees on January 1 under the measure which has been blocked by the Senate for two years.

Health Minister Sussan Ley has repeatedly said she does not plan to go ahead with the $5 prescription hike but the Government has not removed it from the Budget and is still counting the savings to reduce its budget deficit. 

These new charges come as patients are already facing a $20 charge for blood tests from July as a result of government cuts to pathology and as cancer patients are expecting $800 fees for scans to diagnose and track the progress of their disease.   

Families will also lose access to $1,000 worth of free dental care at their family dental practice with the Government axing the child dental scheme in the Budget to save $1 billion.

Families who want government-funded dental care will instead have to queue at public dental clinics where waiting times can be up to 933 days.   

In NSW there are 110,000 people already waiting for public dental care, the wait is 209 days in Victoria, 309 days in Queensland, 260 days in South Australia, 933 days in Tasmania.

Currently one million children are using the dental scheme, Health Minister Sussan Ley says she will be funding 600,000 services for 10 million adults and children.

Aged Care services will also be hit by a $1.2 billion funding cut over the next four years as the government tries to restrict access to higher cost complex care packages.

The Government will also halve the rate at which aged care funding is indexed.

Mr Turnbull we don't like the GP Co-Payment.  Leave Medicare and bulk billing alone.   

Lobo wrote on May 4^th, 2016 at 3:56pm:


still think we should freeze their pay for the same amount of time ...

"Pensioners will face an 80 cent rise in prescription fees on January 1 under the measure which has been blocked by the Senate for two years."

I didn't know this was one that Labor were refusing to pass!   Gunna hit some people hard if it goes through

This is an interesting thing.  In the Abbott/Hockey budget, the $7.00 copayment did not return to the conventional health system.   It went straight to the "Joe Hockey Centre for Medical Excellence and Weight Loss" - it played no part in supporting the actual health system  - more like a research fund.  This time, the copayment just goes to the doctor, which begs the question whether the money saved by freezing the medicare rebate goes into conventional health or in another "Joe Hockey" type research centre?

At least with Hockey, we knew where our 7 bucks was going.  This time it could be for additional helicopters for Coalition MP use

Remember this comes in on the 1st July Roids.

Armchair_Politician wrote on May 5^th, 2016 at 10:27am:



admit it, you don't take anyone seriously unless the smelly tells you to