Our readers asked: “Where do I find a bulk billing doctor?”. Why GPs in Australia seldom bulk bill?

The answer is simple. The Australian Government neglected General Practice. It is harder and harder for medical clinics to meet ends.

What is bulk billing? Bulk billing to Medicare means that patients do not pay out-of-pocket fees for seeing a doctor. The Government pays a standard fee to a doctor for services. The fee is not significant. Some clinics could not survive on that money. Those clinics started charging some additional fees for appointments. Clinics like that are called privately billing clinics.

The standard appointment at the privately billing clinic may cost you $95. You will get back from Medicare $39.95.

There are still some bulk billing General Practices around in the Bayside area in Melbourne.

Almost no bulk billing GP clinics are left in Mentone, Beaumaris, Black Rock and Hampton suburbs. Mentone General Practice is among the few clinics that bulk bills their patients. We asked a manager at one of the bulk billing clinics why they still bulk bill. He says: “Bulk billing in General Practice (like Mentone General Practice) is a philosophy. This view is based on a simple concept that a patient must have no considerations other than her health when deciding to see a doctor. In other words, if it hurts, we must see a doctor without thinking about whether we have 95 dollars in our pocket or not.” Read more of their statement.