Federal Medicare incentive payment changes delivering more bulk billing on Central Coast

The Central Coast's general practice bulk billing rate has risen from 62 per cent to 74 per cent of all consultations in the 12 months since the federal government's tripled bulk billing incentive payment took effect, providing improved access to out-of-pocket free GP care for thousands of Central Coast families who had previously been paying gap fees of $20 to $60 per visit.

The tripled incentive, which applies to consultations with children under 16, concession card holders, and patients at after-hours clinics, was the centrepiece of a federal primary care investment package worth $3.5 billion nationally that aimed to reduce pressure on hospital emergency departments by improving access to community-based GP care.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the Central Coast data was a clear vindication of the incentive approach, demonstrating that targeted financial support for bulk billing could shift GP practice economics in favour of providing accessible primary care. "We know the Central Coast has had primary care access challenges for years. These numbers show the incentive is working," he said.

Central Coast Primary Health Network chief executive Andrew Mullen said the improvement was real but unevenly distributed, with the strongest bulk billing rate improvements concentrated in the suburbs where the economic pressure on patients was greatest. Several precincts in the northern and western parts of the region still had bulk billing rates below 60 per cent due to GP shortages that the incentive alone could not address. "We still need more GPs in this region," he said.

The PHN has used separate federal Health Workforce Fund allocation to support the relocation of two recently graduated GP practices to underserved precincts in the northern catchment.

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