QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Mr BUTLER (Hindmarsh—Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Minister for Health and Ageing and Deputy Leader of the House) (15:13): The member for Macarthur opened his medical practice on 1 February 1984, the day that Medicare started. He has truly lived and breathed Medicare and relentlessly urged us to do everything we can to clean up the mess that was left by those opposite.
He knows the biggest mess was the situation around bulk-billing, and we are turning that around. By changing the indexation of the Medicare rebates formula, we have delivered the biggest increases to the Medicare rebate since Paul Keating was the Prime Minister. By tripling the bulk-billing incentive for Australia's pensioners, concession card holders and kids, we have delivered millions of additional free visits to the doctor and turned bulk-billing around for those Australians, getting it back up to 92 per cent.
But the member knows that, for those Australians who don't have a concession card, the bulk-billing rate has continued to slide. That is why this Saturday we will roll out the biggest investment in the history of Medicare to turn that around, to extend bulk-billing incentives for the first time ever to every single Australian and to extend an incentive payment, an additional payment, to general practices and their doctors if they choose to bulk-bill every patient all of the time.
That's going to be great for patients, but it's also going to be good for doctors. Two years ago a full-time fully-bulk-billing GP in our cities would have been earning about $280,000. Next week that GP will be earning $415,000—a $135,000 increase.
It's even bigger in rural towns because they get bigger incentives. That same GP in a rural town will be earning $490,000 after they pay their practice costs. Already, a thousand clinics have told us they're charging gap fees this week and they'll move to full bulk-billing next week—and that's on top of the 1,600 clinics that are already fully bulk-billing.
She's looking at her phone, but I'm sure that's something the member for Lindsay will be very happy about because, a few months ago, she asked me a question about a clinic around the corner from my electorate office—the Harbour Medical Service. She was concerned that a notice had been put up about gap fees going up. I was concerned too.
She said: Isn't it the case that Australians need both their Medicare card and their credit card to get the health care they need under Labor? Well, I'm happy to report that next week the Harbour Medical Service is moving to fully bulk-bill. I'm sure the member for Lindsay is going to be very happy that, at the Harbour Medical Service, all you'll need is your Medicare card.
Mr Marles: On that note, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.