More and more General Practices are charging a gap fee when you visit your GP.
Due to the rising costs of running and operating a Medical Centre, you may be required to pay for your appointment, and be reimbursed the Medicare Rebate.
We have provided this information for full transparency and educational purposes.
What bulk billing is
Bulk billing means you don’t have to pay for your medical service from a health professional. They bill Medicare instead and they accept the Medicare benefit as full payment for the service.
As of the 1st of July 2022, these rates currently are:
Less than 20 minutes: $39.75
At least 20 minutes: $76.95
Each year, the Medicare rebate was supposed to rise with CPI [Consumer Price Index] but instead was frozen in 2014. There have been some changes each year since 2017, but this year, the rebate has only gone up by 1.6%.
At Mediclinic, we bulk bill your consultations if you have a valid concession card and Medicare provide a "Direct Billing Incentive" which supports us in Bulk Billing you.
Bulk billing is great for patients, however please remember that it is not mandatory for providers to bulk bill anyone, and if they bulk bill it's because they choose to.
Our Fees
We charge a very reasonable gap fee, where you will be reimbursed around 65% from Medicare. We offer on the spot Medicare Rebates via our Tyro machine. The Medicare Rebate is returned to your Debit Card within 11 seconds.
Does this seem new to you?
A GP from Rural QLD goes into some great detail about bulk billing and why her clinic can't do it anymore. If you have the time, it's a great watch and provides some insight into our changing healthcare system.