Over the past 12 months, 86.1% of Australians did not have to pay to visit their GP.
Figures for the past 12 months show:
- An increase of more than 5.5 million free bulk-billed GP visits compared to the same period last year
- The number of fully subsidised services across Medicare rose with an additional 9.6 million bulk-billed services delivered for a total of 343.6 million.
The Morrison Government’s commitment to Medicare and bulk billing remains rock solid.
In March, to help reduce the risk of community transmission of COVID-19, the Government introduced new temporary Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) telehealth items.
The Government’s rapid response meant better protection for patients and health care providers.
During this period, the COVID-19 temporary telehealth and telephone items represented 3.4 per cent of services across Medicare. This included:
- 110,060 telehealth consultations provided by GPs, specialists and allied health professionals.
- 1,137,873 phone consultations provided by GPs, specialists and allied health professionals.
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