25 August 2007

We pay more for the doctor

| GnT
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According to the ABC, the ACT has the lowest rate of bulk-billing in the country.

This is not surprising, since we also have the highest income. Local doctors know they can charge more and therefore make more from this population. What can the government do to encourage more doctors to provide bulk-billing services?

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What, we should be an area of need because your Doctor doesn’t bulk bill?

We have amongst the highest incomes in Australia, and options for free health care if we want to use them.

The local govt doesn’t control GPs – this problem is down to the Feds.

They could declare Canberra an area of need (like remote areas) and pay drs a bit more than medicare, but they chose not to.

GPs are a bit of a joke these days – they have so many patients, so they don’t remember you unless you have chronic problems. All they do is read your file when you turn up (that’s if you can get an appointment while you are still sick).

I say get the govt to make all doctors record patient data to a single central data store where it can be accessed by any doctor. While they are at it boost medicare up too.

My Doctor bulk bills people on health care cards, seniors and children.

I have found getting in to see my Doctor a major problem and recently we have had no choice but to go to the big generic medical centres on a couple of occasions.

The level of care was similar and I was able to see a Dr the same day. In fact I probably received better care because of the additional tests able to be performed at the one location – its like a mini hospital.

The “Good Doctor” you refer to above can equally be found in a medical centre, and you can ask for your choice of Doctor if you are willing to wait.

The rest of the country is not under the control of a pack of avaricious, arrogant bottom feeders who would charge us for the air we breath if they could work out how to meter it.

Yes – but the requirement to pay for a good doctor is only in Canberra. In most of the rest of the country they can still see a decent GP for free.
It doesn’t seem fair to me.

Ingeegoodbee4:29 pm 28 Aug 07

Apologies for crappy grammar – the “you’re” in the second last sentence should of course be “your”.

Ingeegoodbee4:27 pm 28 Aug 07

I suspect that the reality of getting what you pay for applies equally to doctors services as it does for any other commodity. If you don’t want to stump up cash up front you get a long wait and a strange doctor every visit. On the other hand if you pay a premium you get an appointment, and (on most occasions) you’re regular doctor. The two services are distinctly different and I believe that the price difference is entirely justified.

you pay either way…with your time or your money.

A result of the new medical centre I’d say.

Those first come first served places are taking over.

Bring back the days of hte ‘family doctor’.

BeyondThought10:50 pm 27 Aug 07

this came as surprise to me and i googled it, came accross this interesting piece:

Medicare bulk-billing rates increase again in Fraser
http://www.troy-williams.com/media/070410-TroyWilliams.htm

all very confusing

Further to that – those less well off should still be able to see a normal family GP who knows their medical history, and can bulk bill them. IN Canberra, even with a health care card, I believe you are still pretty much restricted to sitting around in a ‘medical centre’ to see whichever dr, if you want to be bulk billed.

Why should bulk billing be only for the destitute in Canberra, and for everyone in most other major cities?

“The solution is easy: the Government needs to pay the GPs for their time.”

…or, the patient could take some personal responsibility and pay the GP. I’m sick of subsidising people dont pay their own way.

Bulk billing should be for the minority who have major health issues and can’t afford medical care otherwise.

gun street girl7:16 pm 26 Aug 07

The solution is easy: the Government needs to pay the GPs for their time. The Medicare reimbursement is not a king’s ransom, particularly in Canberra where we have one GP per thousand person.

The medical centres do bulk bill.

What Canberra is lacking is ‘family dr’ type GPs where you see the same dr, and can make an appt. almost none of them will bulk bill, even for babies.

The above probably makes no sense unless you know Philip don’t take bookings, it’s walk in and wait.

People have discovered the Philip one, used to be a 45 min wait, now it’s 2 hours min. I got there at 9:30am and there were 45 people ahead of me. The receptionist said people were queuing up when she got there. To be honest, I’d rather pay a $30 gap than wait for 2 -3 hours.

The new medical centres in Philip and Belconnen bulk bill. There’s also a couple in Dickson (Dr Smee?) and I’m pretty sure the fellow in Curtin does (or at least did several years ago).

IN Adelaide all kids under 12 are bulk billed.

As you say – in Canberra there is no such thing as a dr that bulk bills. If we were some remote area we’d be getting assitancem, but as Johhny H hates Canberra, we are stuck wth 3rd rate GP services.

Ah, perhaps the Commonwealth might do the nation a favour and increase the rates that Medicare pays doctors for patient consultations?

10 – 15 years ago it was strange if a doctor didn’t bulk bill; nowadays it’s a miracle to find a doctor who does bulk bill.

But that would leave Johnny with less money in the kitty to buy votes with middle class welfare. And anyway, Johnny wants essential services to be user pays, like his dreamland America.

God bless America. God bless John Howard.

The answer is obvious – reduce our income. Which is exactly what the ACT government is trying to do with its current policies on taxes, rates, fees and penalties.

It is also because we have the lowest number of GPs per capita in the country.

Jon Stanhope did apply to John Howard for the ACT to be declared an area of need, but JH ignored the request.

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