Bulk billing on the rise in Canberra

I pay $115 for 15 minutes with my local Dr. There is no Medicare rebate.

Are there any bulk bill clinics for people without health care cards in Canberra? Phillip now charges same fees as elsewhere. Prefer South side.

Where ?????

Are people aware of the new service in Canberra – National Home Doctor Service?
They are available in Canberra, Queanbeyan and Jerrabomberra. Their call centre opens at 4pm on weekdays, from 10am on Saturdays, and all day on Sundays and public holidays. When you call them, they visit you at home – weekdays between 6pm and 8am; and weekends from noon on Saturday to 8am Monday; 24 hours on pubic holidays.
Visits are bulk billed.
To request a doctor you can either call them on 13 SICK (13 7425) or add their app to your mobile or iPad. If you add the app, make sure you complete all your Medicare details as this will make it so much more easier if you need to call them.
My daughter called them recently, and after she registered a visit via her app, they rang her very shortly afterwards and advised that a doctor would be there in 15 minutes – he was.

JC said :

Mysteryman said :

neanderthalsis said :

Hurrah! Go team! ACT Health is obviously doing a fantastic job…

Simon does forget to mention that we have the lowest rate of bulk billing in the country, the highest cost to see a GP, the second highest recurrent expenditure per capita, the second lowest patient satisfaction and the second longest waiting times in the country.

These must be all the fault of the Abbott Government and their evil co-payment… It is little wonder that Katie jumped ship to pursue a job that will protect her from scrutiny.

Hear, hear.

What are the ACT government doing regarding the cost of GP visits, other than trying to pass the buck to the Federal government?

What can they do in regards to GP’s? and in particular the cost? At the end of the day, GP’s are private businesses that can open and close as they will and charge what they like.

The only thing the local government can do is assist the GP’s by providing primary health care outside the scope of GP’s and in Canberra we have quite a bit of that. The walk in clinics, the community health centres, programs for the elderly etc. They take the heat of the GP’s, but as I said at the end of the day GP’s are not under the control of the ACT government.

Correct. GP fees are not under the direct control of the Federal government, either, but the ACT Gov seem to be trying to direct attention to them regarding the cost of services.

There *are* things the ACT government can do to encourage lower visit costs. Some of those things you’ve already mentioned.

Mysteryman said :

watto23 said :

I’m happy to reign in Health spending if it was genuinely out of control, but the issue we have is the federal government want us to believe that Welfare and Health are costing too much so they can reduce the taxation paid by the top end of town…

What a complete load of bollocks. People like yourself, and others on the left are fighting really hard to perpetuate this notion of a class warfare being waged from the top down. It’s simply not true. The “top end of town” basically fund the rest of us. They get very little from the government and pay the most taxes. And yet people like you continue to perpetuate the idea that the government is giving them a free ride. It’s simply not true and the longer you assert it, the less credibility you have.

Thanks for saying what had to be said. This what Abbott and Hockey failed to spell out.
The people who are being asked to pay a small co-payment are a small demographic.
The rest of us not only pay the Medicare levy (which is increases with taxable income) but we also pay a co-payment of about $40 every time we see a GP.
And when we see specialists and have to be hospitalised we get slugged with huge fees that are referred to as “gaps”.
Meanwhile, the small but vocal group mentioned before (who have been hijacked by the left to be prtrayed as “victims” of coalition policies) pay nothing.

Mysteryman said :

neanderthalsis said :

Hurrah! Go team! ACT Health is obviously doing a fantastic job…

Simon does forget to mention that we have the lowest rate of bulk billing in the country, the highest cost to see a GP, the second highest recurrent expenditure per capita, the second lowest patient satisfaction and the second longest waiting times in the country.

These must be all the fault of the Abbott Government and their evil co-payment… It is little wonder that Katie jumped ship to pursue a job that will protect her from scrutiny.

Hear, hear.

What are the ACT government doing regarding the cost of GP visits, other than trying to pass the buck to the Federal government?

What can they do in regards to GP’s? and in particular the cost? At the end of the day, GP’s are private businesses that can open and close as they will and charge what they like.

The only thing the local government can do is assist the GP’s by providing primary health care outside the scope of GP’s and in Canberra we have quite a bit of that. The walk in clinics, the community health centres, programs for the elderly etc. They take the heat of the GP’s, but as I said at the end of the day GP’s are not under the control of the ACT government.

watto23 said :

I’m happy to reign in Health spending if it was genuinely out of control, but the issue we have is the federal government want us to believe that Welfare and Health are costing too much so they can reduce the taxation paid by the top end of town…

What a complete load of bollocks. People like yourself, and others on the left are fighting really hard to perpetuate this notion of a class warfare being waged from the top down. It’s simply not true. The “top end of town” basically fund the rest of us. They get very little from the government and pay the most taxes. And yet people like you continue to perpetuate the idea that the government is giving them a free ride. It’s simply not true and the longer you assert it, the less credibility you have.

watto23 said :

Mysteryman said :

neanderthalsis said :

Hurrah! Go team! ACT Health is obviously doing a fantastic job…

Simon does forget to mention that we have the lowest rate of bulk billing in the country, the highest cost to see a GP, the second highest recurrent expenditure per capita, the second lowest patient satisfaction and the second longest waiting times in the country.

These must be all the fault of the Abbott Government and their evil co-payment… It is little wonder that Katie jumped ship to pursue a job that will protect her from scrutiny.

Hear, hear.

What are the ACT government doing regarding the cost of GP visits, other than trying to pass the buck to the Federal government?

Well Canberra is what the rest of Australia would get if the co payment was passed IMO. We do have a pretty high standard of healthcare in the ACT though compared to many places around the world. We often lose sight of this, but at the same time we should always be striving to improve our lives.

I’m happy to reign in Health spending if it was genuinely out of control, but the issue we have is the federal government want us to believe that Welfare and Health are costing too much so they can reduce the taxation paid by the top end of town. If they cut spending now, then when revenue increases rather than save the money, it will be more tax cuts and the vicious cycle will continue.

We really need better use of funding as I reckon there would be a fair amount of wastage. Also we have the wrong mentality in Australia, that to create or increase wealth one must reduce their taxes, rather than increase their income. Negative gearing is a prime example, when its better to owe money on a investment property and use it to reduce tax and wait for a capital gain than it is to own it outright and be making a profit on it, the system needs a fix IMO.

Just for once, can you not blame Abbott?
All the problems you refer to were there before Abbott became PM.
The ACT “can show leadership” by doing something like I suggested in #3. Would that be a problem for you?
I am getting sick and tired of going to the TCH ED out of hours for urgent treatment of family members only to be displaced in the queue by drunks who have been beaten up (self inflicted problem). These are the people that are probably already on welfare so the don’t pay the Medicare levy.

Mysteryman said :

neanderthalsis said :

Hurrah! Go team! ACT Health is obviously doing a fantastic job…

Simon does forget to mention that we have the lowest rate of bulk billing in the country, the highest cost to see a GP, the second highest recurrent expenditure per capita, the second lowest patient satisfaction and the second longest waiting times in the country.

These must be all the fault of the Abbott Government and their evil co-payment… It is little wonder that Katie jumped ship to pursue a job that will protect her from scrutiny.

Hear, hear.

What are the ACT government doing regarding the cost of GP visits, other than trying to pass the buck to the Federal government?

Well Canberra is what the rest of Australia would get if the co payment was passed IMO. We do have a pretty high standard of healthcare in the ACT though compared to many places around the world. We often lose sight of this, but at the same time we should always be striving to improve our lives.

I’m happy to reign in Health spending if it was genuinely out of control, but the issue we have is the federal government want us to believe that Welfare and Health are costing too much so they can reduce the taxation paid by the top end of town. If they cut spending now, then when revenue increases rather than save the money, it will be more tax cuts and the vicious cycle will continue.

We really need better use of funding as I reckon there would be a fair amount of wastage. Also we have the wrong mentality in Australia, that to create or increase wealth one must reduce their taxes, rather than increase their income. Negative gearing is a prime example, when its better to owe money on a investment property and use it to reduce tax and wait for a capital gain than it is to own it outright and be making a profit on it, the system needs a fix IMO.