Bulk billing: Difference between revisions
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| ⚫ | '''Bulk billing''' is a payment option under the [[Medicare (Australia)|Medicare]] system of universal health insurance in [[Australia]]. It can cover a prescribed range of health services as listed in the Medicare Benefits Schedule, at the discretion of the health service provider.<ref>[http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/medicare/medicare-bulk-billing "Medicare Bulk Billing"]</ref> The health service provider - usually a [[physician|doctor]] - is paid 85% of the scheduled fee for outpatient services; and 75% of the scheduled fee for inpatient services, by billing the government via the patient's [[Medicare card (Australia)|Medicare card]]. The service provider receives a fixed proportion of the scheduled fee but avoids the costs and risks of billing and debt collection. It could be described as a form of [[factoring (trade)|factoring]]. |
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{{Update|inaccurate=yes|date=November 2010}} |
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| ⚫ | Bulk billing rebates may be collected and paid directly to the service provider, or the service provider may collect the equivalent fee from the patient; leaving the patient to claim the rebate online, over the telephone, by mail, or at a Medicare office. Increasingly, service providers offer electronic lodgement at the practice using [[EFTPOS]].<ref>[http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/subjects/medicare-services "Billing and claiming options"]</ref> |
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| ⚫ | '''Bulk billing''' is a payment option under the [[Medicare (Australia)|Medicare]] system of universal health insurance in [[Australia]]. It can cover a prescribed range of health services as listed in the Medicare Benefits Schedule, at the discretion of the health service provider.<ref>[http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/medicare/medicare-bulk-billing "Medicare Bulk Billing"]</ref> The health service provider |
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==Decline in bulk billing== |
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Service providers may choose whether or not to use bulk billing. In January 2023, it was reported that only 42.7% of general practitioners bulk billed, while outside of Sydney and Melbourne less than a third bulk billed. In the [[Australian Capital Territory]] and [[Tasmania]], only 5% and 6.9% of GPs bulk billed respectively.<ref>{{cite news |author=Mikala Theocharous |
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|agency= |title=Bulk-billing GP crisis hits all-time high, affecting over 50 per cent of Australians |url=https://www.9news.com.au/national/medicare-due-for-overhaul-bulk-biling-doctors-clinics-crisis-50-per-cent-australians/6cd8f534-5910-400b-8bce-c9e70d174abe |quote= |newspaper=[[Nine News]] |date=2023-01-28 |access-date=2023-02-02 }}</ref> The key purpose of bulk billing is to provide an economic constraint on medical fees and charges. |
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To address the decline in bulk billing, the [[Australian Medical Association]] (AMA) called on the [[Government of Australia|federal government]] to revise indexation to ensure rebates better reflect the rising costs of providing medical care and running a practice, which it says would encourage more GPs to bulk-bill. The President of the AMA said that the "average government contribution to Medicare claims have fallen in real terms by more than 5 per cent over the past two decades, placing significant cost pressures on doctors<ref>{{cite news |author=Anthony Galloway |agency= |title=Falling rate of bulk-billing sparks urgent call for overhaul of Medicare |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/falling-rate-of-bulk-billing-sparks-urgent-call-for-overhaul-of-medicare-20230127-p5cfxq.html |quote= |newspaper=[[Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=2023-01-29 |access-date=2023-02-02 }}</ref> |
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In the [[2014 Australian federal budget]], the [[Abbott Government]] proposed to impose a $7 [[co-payment]] for all bulk billed GP and medical test visits. The co-payment works by reducing the medicare rebate available to service providers by $5 with the additional $2 going to providers. The co-payment measure was initially recommended by the National Commission of Audit and adopted as a measure in the 2014 federal budget, to be implemented from 1 July 2015. |
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The co-payment has been described as rationing measure to decrease the frequency of unnecessary GP visits. However, the exact reasons for this measure have not been fully explained. The funds gathered from this measure are to be designated to funding a new national medical research fund. Several GP clinics have indicated that they will weather this loss of revenue in order to continue providing free GP visits. |
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In the [[2014 Australian federal budget]], the [[Abbott government]] proposed to impose a $7 [[co-payment]] for all bulk billed GP and medical test visits. The proposal was to reduce the medicare rebate payable to service providers by $5 (which applies to all consultations, and not just bulk billed ones) with the additional $2 paid by patients also going to providers. The proposal was widely criticised.<ref>[[The Age]], 19 June 2014: [http://www.theage.com.au/comment/medical-copayment-deserves-to-fail-in-the-senate-20140618-zsbb3.html Medical copayment deserves to fail in the senate]</ref> In March 2015 the Health Minister [[Sussan Ley]] announced that "we are not pursuing it at all" with Prime Minister Abbott declaring the co-payment was "dead, buried and cremated".<ref>Sydney Morning Herald, 3 March 2015: [http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/abbott-government-scraps-gp-copayment-20150303-13thxg.html Abbott government scraps GP co-payment]</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.aryshealth.com.au/bulk-billing-doctors-sydney-cbd/|title= Bulk Billing Doctors }} Thursday, 23 May 2019 </ref> |
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It was announced in December 2014, that the co-payment will be reduced to $5 in total and begin in 2015. |
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Service providers may choose whether or not to use bulk billing. Most general practitioner services are bulk-billed, but less so in more affluent areas and in rural, regional and remote areas of Australia where there is a greater shortage of doctors and health care services. The key purpose of bulk billing is to provide an economic constraint on medical fees and charges. |
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== References == |
== References == |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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== External Links == |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulk Billing}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulk Billing}} |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Medicare Australia]] |
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Latest revision as of 03:00, 21 April 2023
Bulk billing is a payment option under the Medicare system of universal health insurance in Australia. It can cover a prescribed range of health services as listed in the Medicare Benefits Schedule, at the discretion of the health service provider.[1] The health service provider - usually a doctor - is paid 85% of the scheduled fee for outpatient services; and 75% of the scheduled fee for inpatient services, by billing the government via the patient's Medicare card. The service provider receives a fixed proportion of the scheduled fee but avoids the costs and risks of billing and debt collection. It could be described as a form of factoring.
Bulk billing rebates may be collected and paid directly to the service provider, or the service provider may collect the equivalent fee from the patient; leaving the patient to claim the rebate online, over the telephone, by mail, or at a Medicare office. Increasingly, service providers offer electronic lodgement at the practice using EFTPOS.[2]
Under Medicare, it is not permissible to charge the patient a co-payment with bulk billing (although this was previously permissible): a service provider who bulk bills for a service may not charge the patient further for that service.
Decline in bulk billing[edit]
Service providers may choose whether or not to use bulk billing. In January 2023, it was reported that only 42.7% of general practitioners bulk billed, while outside of Sydney and Melbourne less than a third bulk billed. In the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania, only 5% and 6.9% of GPs bulk billed respectively.[3] The key purpose of bulk billing is to provide an economic constraint on medical fees and charges.
To address the decline in bulk billing, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) called on the federal government to revise indexation to ensure rebates better reflect the rising costs of providing medical care and running a practice, which it says would encourage more GPs to bulk-bill. The President of the AMA said that the "average government contribution to Medicare claims have fallen in real terms by more than 5 per cent over the past two decades, placing significant cost pressures on doctors[4]
2014 co-payment proposal[edit]
In the 2014 Australian federal budget, the Abbott government proposed to impose a $7 co-payment for all bulk billed GP and medical test visits. The proposal was to reduce the medicare rebate payable to service providers by $5 (which applies to all consultations, and not just bulk billed ones) with the additional $2 paid by patients also going to providers. The proposal was widely criticised.[5] In March 2015 the Health Minister Sussan Ley announced that "we are not pursuing it at all" with Prime Minister Abbott declaring the co-payment was "dead, buried and cremated".[6][7]
References[edit]
- ^ "Medicare Bulk Billing"
- ^ "Billing and claiming options"
- ^ Mikala Theocharous (2023-01-28). "Bulk-billing GP crisis hits all-time high, affecting over 50 per cent of Australians". Nine News. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
- ^ Anthony Galloway (2023-01-29). "Falling rate of bulk-billing sparks urgent call for overhaul of Medicare". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
- ^ The Age, 19 June 2014: Medical copayment deserves to fail in the senate
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald, 3 March 2015: Abbott government scraps GP co-payment
- ^ "Bulk Billing Doctors". Thursday, 23 May 2019