The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ (RACGP) is warning the Federal Government’s freeze on patient Medicare rebates will result in people being forced to pay more to see their GP.
Patient Medicare rebates will not be indexed today, the start of the new financial year, and follows a previous freeze on patient rebates for GP consultations in 2013.
RACGP Vice-President Associate Professor Morton Rawlin said the freeze could be seen as a co-payment by stealth and many GPs would have no option but to reluctantly pass on the additional cost to patients.
“The RACGP has consistently called for the freeze to be abandoned. It will force GPs to pass more costs on to patients, resulting in serious implications for access and the provision of quality clinical services,” Associate Professor Rawlin said.
“As GPs who care about our patients, the last thing we want to do is ask them to pay more for vital healthcare services. But in many cases, if GPs don’t pass on the costs, their practices run the risk of becoming unviable. If a practice becomes unviable and they close down, patient access will be reduced.
“The freeze is another potential barrier to patients accessing quality general practice care. We know that when patients worry about the cost of visiting their GP they are more likely to delay in making an appointment. As a result, their condition gets worse and, in some cases, people end up in expensive hospital emergency departments,” Associate Professor Rawlin said.
In April this year the RACGP asked members how the freeze would affect patient access to their services. Of the 566 who responded, 57% said they would be forced to pass increased out-of-pocket expenses onto their patients, either because their practice would stop bulk billing (30%) or would charge higher out-of-pocket costs to non-concessional care holders (27%). Only 8% of respondents indicated they would not be forced to pass on increasing costs to their patients.
“GPs who responded to the survey told us that the freeze would reduce patients’ access to care because of increases in out-of-pocket costs. Members also told us about the difficulty they face in trying to improve patient access to GP services while at the same time trying to ensure they maintain a viable and sustainable practice,” Associate Professor Rawlin said.
GPs see more than 80% of Australia’s population every year and are the most cost-efficient pillar of the healthcare system.
“It makes sense to invest in general practice because this will produce long term health savings and better outcomes for patients,” Associate Professor Rawlin said.
The RACGP is the peak professional body for general practice in Australia representing almost 30,000 members working in or towards a career in general practice.