More than 4,000 general practitioner clinics across Australia now offer free consultations to all patients under Medicare, up from about 2,300 a year earlier, the government said on Sunday.
Australian Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler noted that 50 percent of all general practices nationwide now exclusively offer bulk billing, compared with 30 percent a year earlier.
The bulk‑billing system has been expanded by the government’s Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program, which gives higher Medicare rebates to clinics where all doctors bill Medicare directly and all patients face no out‑of‑pocket costs.
According to the statement, more than 97 percent of Australians now live within a 20‑minute drive of a clinic that bulk bills all patients.
The proportion of fully bulk‑billing practices has more than doubled in South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory over the past 12 months.
The Northern Territory recorded the highest proportion among states and territories at 80 percent, followed by New South Wales at 58 percent and Victoria at 55 percent, while the ACT had the lowest at 21 percent.
Rural areas saw the largest increase, with the proportion of fully bulk‑billing practices rising to 59 percent, while remote areas remained at 77 percent.
Butler said the expansion was helping Australians save hundreds of dollars a year in out‑of‑pocket medical expenses.
