Preliminary bulk billing data released recently shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. This comes after the government tripled the incentive payment for GPs to bulk bill concession-card holders and children under 16 for most consultations.
The new data confirms the December-quarter data, which shows the increased bulk billing incentive, announced in the 2023 budget, arrested the decline in bulk billing caused by the almost decade-long freeze in rebates under the previous government.
But progress on bulk billing rates is being undermined by changes to state government tax rules.
Stephen Duckett and Fiona McDonald explained why in a recent article in The Conversation.
