A new Cleanbill Blue Report released today shows Australians are being slugged with skyrocketing out-of-pocket costs to see a GP, creating a two-tiered health system under the Albanese Labor Government.
The report reveals that the average out-of-pocket cost for a standard GP visit has surged by 13.5 per cent in the past year alone. In Tasmania, patients are now paying an average of $60.76 per consult out of their own pocket.
This mirrors the latest official data from the Health Department, which shows that the average out-of-pocket cost nationwide has risen to more than $50 on average for the first time in Medicare’s history.
While the report records a welcome increase in the number of bulk billing clinics, it also confirms access is becoming more unequal. Australians who do not live near one of these clinics are facing soaring costs and fewer options, with Cleanbill also reporting a net decline in the total number of GP clinics nationally for the first time.
Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care Senator Anne Ruston said the data proved Labor has failed to protect Australians from soaring healthcare costs.
“At a time when families are already struggling to pay their rent or mortgages and power bills, Labor has allowed the cost of seeing a GP to spiral out of control,” Senator Ruston said.
“Anthony Albanese promised Australians they would be able to see a GP for free, but millions are instead being forced to put skyrocketing charges on their credit cards or avoid care altogether.
“The Government’s own data shows the consequence, with Australians now making around 10,000 fewer GP visits every single day under Labor.
“When Australians cannot afford to see their family doctor, conditions go untreated and more people are forced into already-overcrowded hospital emergency departments.”
Senator Ruston said that this was an affordability crisis entirely of the Albanese Government’s own making.
“Small, family practices are struggling with the rising cost of doing business under Labor just like most small businesses across the country – and now we are seeing more practices forced to close their doors because they also cannot afford the consequences of Labor’s mismanagement,” Senator Ruston said.
“Despite spending billions of taxpayer dollars, Labor has delivered higher costs, fewer GP clinics and a healthcare system that is under more pressure by the day.”
ENDS
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