More Australians in Illawarra and Shoalhaven will get free visits to the GP if the Albanese Labor Government is re-elected, with an additional 543,100 bulk billed visits and a boost to the number of fully bulk billing GP practices to around 105 in the local area – almost four times the current 27 practices.
Across the state, there will be an additional 5 million bulk billed GP visits, saving locals hundreds of dollars a year, depending on where they live and how often they visit their GP.
A retiree couple in Illawarra and Shoalhaven with typical GP service usage may save around $174 to $292 a year in out-of-pocket costs, if their practice goes fully bulk billing and their GP visits become free.
An older family, with two parents in their 50s and two young adult children in their late teens or early 20s, may save around $264 to $389 a year.
A younger family, with two parents in their 30s and two children under five years old, may save around $215 to $336 a year.
From 1 November, Labor will expand bulk billing incentives to all Australians and create an additional new incentive payment for practices that bulk bill every patient, with an additional 12.5 per cent loading payment on their Medicare rebates.
This will mean nine out of 10 GP visits will be bulk billed by 2030, boosting the number of fully bulk billed practices to around 4,800 nationally – triple the current number.
GP practices in Illawarra and Shoalhaven will get more support to bulk bill, with around 105 practices across the electorates of Cunningham, Gilmore, and Whitlam in a better financial position if they adopt full bulk billing.
This means around 105 Illawarra and Shoalhaven practices will gain more in additional Medicare payments than they lose in patient out-of-pockets if they go fully bulk billing.
According to modelling by the Department of Health and Aged Care, the 4,800 practices will receive an average of $344,000 in additional Medicare payments a year.
The additional Medicare payments a bulk billed practice may receive each year will depend on a range of factors, including the practice location and how many Medicare services it provides each year:
