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GP costs rise as less bulk-billing

SEEING a doctor and accessing health services is becoming more difficult with a fall in the number of GPs bulk billing, says Federal MP for Barton, Linda Burney.
Ms Burney says official new data confirms what people already know – that health costs have never been higher than under the Morrison Government.
The Government’s own Health Department has revealed to the Senate that people in the electorate of Barton, which includes the Canterbury area, pay an average out-of-pocket fee of $36.35 to see a GP. This is a up $6.92 or 42 per cent since the Liberals were elected.
Ms Burney says the Health Department has also contradicted the Government’s claims on bulk billing, admitting that 14.2 per cent of patients in the Barton electorate have to pay to see a GP.
“This is set to worsen, with GP bulk billing in Barton falling under the Coalition,” she said.
Specialist out-of-pocket fees are also at record highs, with people in Barton paying an average $97.02 to see a specialist– up a staggering $30.85 or 47 per cent under the Liberals.
With 29 per cent of people in Barton always bulk billed by specialists, these costs hit thousands of locals every year.
Ms Burney says these new figures are a damning indictment of the Liberals’ record of cuts and neglect in health.
Shadow Health Minister Chris Bowen said after the Liberals tried and failed to impose a GP Tax, they introduced the Medicare freeze – a GP tax-by-stealth.
“Scott Morrison extended the freeze as Treasurer, leading directly to the out-of-pocket costs that people in Barton face today,” he said.