The Albanese Labor Government is failing to cure Australia’s primary healthcare crisis which is making it harder and more expensive for people in Mallee to see a doctor.

Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health and Member for Mallee Anne Webster said the Cleanbill Blue Report: National General Practitioner Listings released this week highlighted what Mallee people had been experiencing for the last 18 months.

“In Mallee it is hard enough to find a doctor, let alone one who bulk bills,” she said. “Now Australia-wide fewer than one in four clinics offer bulk billing to all adults through Medicare in 2024 – appallingly this has fallen by more than 11 per cent on a clinic-by-clinic basis under Labor.”

Dr Webster said the report also revealed it was becoming more expensive to see a doctor.

“Patients in Victoria alone are now seeing average out of pocket costs of $41.19, which is paid on top of the Medicare rebate already paid for a standard consultation,” Dr Webster said. “Over 1.2 million Australians didn’t see a GP in 2022-2023 because of concerns surrounding cost – this is an absolute tragedy. We know when people avoid going to a doctor that conditions worsen, and this leaves many needing to attend our overworked and overburdened hospital emergency departments.”

Cleanbill’s study follows the RACGP’s Health of the Nation report released late last year, which showed that the number of GPs who bulk bill all their patients has halved in just one year, while the cost of seeing a GP has increased by $11 on average.

“Health Minister, Mark Butler brags about his Government’s tripling of the Medicare Bulk Billing Incentive, but that is merely hot air and is not making a difference for the vast majority of Australians. The incentive only affects consults for pensioners, concession card holders and children – it does not change the fact bulk billing rates are continuing to fall under Labor,” Dr Webster said.

“All this is compounded in regional Australia where patients struggle to access a doctor – thanks to Labor bleeding the regions of doctors through the expansion of the Distribution Priority Areas which funnelled International Medical Graduates into peri-urban settings.

“The regulatory and compliance burden is contributing to GPs leaving medical practice, some pushed by State Governments introducing a retrospective payroll tax.

“GPs are overworked and some simply burnt out – of the 39,000 GPs working in Australia currently almost three in 10 intend to retire in the next five years – they have had enough. The Albanese Labor Government likes to point fingers at the Coalition, but that line is getting stale. Right now, this crisis – just like the cost of living – is on Labor’s watch.”