‘Free’ Trips to the Doctor Increase by More Than 360,000 in Australia

Bulk billing in Australia has risen by more than 2 percent since the government boosted incentives for trips to the doctor in November. Australians have benefited from an estimated 360,000 more trips to the doctor being bulk billed since the incentives started, Health Minister Mark Butler said. The government released the data on the 40th anniversary of Medicare, Australia’s publicly funded universal healthcare system. Bulk-billing is when the government fully covers the total cost of a visit to a GP, rather than an individual having to pay a gap fee. However, separate data released by healthcare comparison directory Cleanbill in January showed the bulk billing rate in Australia has fallen 11.1 percent in a year....