More patients in Dobell are being bulk billed as a direct result of the tripling of the bulk billing incentive by the Albanese Government, with more than two million additional bulk billed visits across the country since November 1, 2023.
The Federal Government has invested a record $3.5B into Medicare to increase the bulk billing rate.
In the month before the bulk billing incentive was tripled, 69.7 per cent of all GP visits were bulk billed in Dobell.
Over the next seven months the bulk billing rate increased by 7.7 per cent, to 77.4 per cent in May.
The 7.7 per cent rise in bulk billing in Dobell is the second highest by electorate in NSW.
“The Albanese Government committed to making it easier for people to see a doctor – and that is what we are seeing on the Central Coast with the significant rise in bulk billing,” Member for Dobell Emma McBride said.
“A 7.7 per cent rise in bulk billing in Dobell is good for patients, doctors, and the health system – and it is helping make Medicare stronger.
“Labor introduced Medicare and only Labor can be trusted to strengthen and protect it.”
She said seven months of official Medicare billing data showed that after a decade of cuts and neglect from the Liberals, the slide in the GP bulk billing rate had stopped and bulk billing rates continued to improve.
Nationally, the GP bulk billing rate rose by 3.4 per cent since the increase bulk billing incentives came into effect on November 1.
Australians living in regional and rural areas have seen the biggest increases, with an estimated additional 900,000 bulk billed visits since the higher bulk billing incentives came into effect.