If you live in a bulk-billing ‘desert’ it's hard to see a doctor for free. Here's how to fix this
- Written by Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute
GP fees are hitting more Australians than they did a few years ago. There’s a lot of talk about a crisis in bulk billing, with many people reporting they’re unable to see a doctor without paying an out-of-pocket fee.
But the biggest, most urgent problem is in the communities where most people pay fees, so called bulk-billing “deserts”. These deserts are more likely in poorer areas, so the people who most need bulk billing are missing out.
While Medicare funding changes are needed to address this problem, we also need to look at more innovative solutions. One option is for federal and state governments to step in[1] and support or set up clinics that employ doctors, nurses and other health workers.
Bulk billing is falling, but from a historic high
The share of patients who never paid a GP fee fell[2] from 67% in 2020-21 to 64% in 2021-22. But those rates are still high by recent standards. The rate has only fallen back to the level of 2015, and it remains much higher than a decade ago.
