|
MEDIA
RELEASE |
|
030829
Covering
Costs: the Key to Increasing Rural Bulk Billing
The
Rural Doctors Association of
Submission
to the Senate Select Committee on Medicare
President
of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia, Dr Ken Mackey, has presented to
the Senate Select Committee on Medicare evidence that the decline in bulk
billing rates in rural and remote areas is not due entirely to the problem of
access to doctors, but the greater cost of performing medical services in the
country.
“Obviously
the number of Doctors practicing in rural and remote areas is far below what is
required to service the growing non-urban bush and coastal populations –
however, the single determining factor of bulk-billing rates is the inadequacy
of the rebate to cover the cost of a rural consultation. It simply costs more
to see a patient if you and they live outside of a metropolitan area,” Dr
Mackey said today.
“The
rural medical workforce shortage needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency –
but in discussing Medicare, as we did at the Inquiry, we are really focussing
on the issue of the “universality” of the bulk-billing system and Commonwealth
data shows that the further one travels from urban centres, the lower the bulk
billing rate is – falling from 80% in the city, to 57% in remote areas.
“The
Government’s A Fairer Medicare
package does not adequately address the problem of cost for country practices.
“It
is neither lack of access nor lack of competition that decreases bulk billing
in rural areas – both rural and urban fringe have very similar patient to
doctor ratios, but very different bulk billing rates. Moreover, while the
patient to doctor ratio is even lower in remote areas, there is very little
difference in the bulk billing rates between the rural and remote areas.
“The
solution to this problem begins with the recognition of the higher cost
component in rural, requiring a higher patient
rebate. Without this the patient will have to fund an ever increasing gap
payment for rural practices to remain merely financially viable.
“It
must be remembered that GP practices are a small business; doctors need to
charge for their services and Medicare reimburses
the patient for those services. To increase bulk-billing – the aim of this
Medicare package and the Inquiry – then the Medicare rebate must be set at a
level that enables medical practices to be financially sustainable,” Dr Mackey
said
Dr
Mackey was joined in representing RDAA before the Senate Committee by Dr Graham
Slaney, RDAA Vice President and Drs. Denis Chew (RDA NT President), Graham
Jacobs (RDA WA President), Damien Nevin (RDAQ President) & Ross Maxwell
(RDAQ Treasurer).
Media
contact: Dr Ken Mackey, RDAA President, on 02 6920 5249 or 0429 205 249
Dr Graham Slaney, RDAA Vice President, on 03 5775 2166 or 0418 540 223
Dr
Graham Jacobs, RDAWA President, on 08 9071 1511 or
0427 713 336
Dr
Denis Chew, RDA NT President, on 08 8987 3044 or
0408 076 013
Dr
Damien Nevin, RDAQ President, on 07 4662 7188
or 0427 689 125