Senator Perin Davey
Deputy Leader of The Nationals
Shadow Minister for Water
Shadow Minister for Emergency Management
Senator the Hon Anne Ruston
Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care
Shadow Minister for Sport
Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE
PRIMARY CARE IN NSW WORSE UNDER LABOR
The Albanese Labor Government is overseeing a serious primary healthcare crisis in NSW, which is making it harder and more expensive to see a doctor.
The recent report released by Cleanbill has confirmed a trend that has been evident for months – bulkbilling is collapsing under Labor, after being at record highs under the former Coalition Government.
Cleanbill’s report states that there has been a “catastrophic” reduction in the number of bulkbilling options available across the country and that over 1.2 million Australians avoided attending a GP over the last financial year due to cost concerns.
In NSW the report shows the number of clinics offering bulkbilling to all adult patients has reduced by over 37 percent[1] while the average out-of-pocket cost of a GP appointment has risen to just over $42.
This study follows the RACGP’s Health of the Nation report released late last year, which showed that the number of GPs who bulkbill all their patients has halved in just one year.
Senator for NSW Perin Davey said the Albanese Government is overseeing the collapse of bulkbilling at a time when local families are struggling to pay the bills, let alone cough up for an unexpected GP appointment.
“It is unacceptable that Labor is overseeing a complete collapse of bulkbilling, which is forcing some families to make the choice between accessing critical primary healthcare or putting food on the table.
“In the regions we are already struggling to attract GPs, the last thing we need is for this health crisis to be made worse because patients cannot afford to see their GP,” Senator Davey said.
The Shadow Minister for Health, Senator the Hon Anne Ruston said bulkbilling rates have dropped consecutively every single month since Labor came into Government, with the latest quarterly data showing rates have plummeted to the lowest levels in over a decade.
“This Government was elected with a promise to ‘strengthen Medicare’, yet all of the data is steamrolling in the opposite direction.
“This is a seriously concerning trend that Australians just cannot afford. Not only is it pushing up out-of-pocket expenses for families, but we also know that a weakened primary care system only increases the pressure on our over-burdened hospitals,” Shadow Minister Ruston said.
Without urgent action from the Government to address this concerning collapse in bulkbilling, access to critical healthcare will be increasingly at risk for the people of NSW.
[1] *Based on data from Cleanbill’s Blue Report: National General Practitioner Listings, January 2024 (Cleanbill-Blue-Report-January-2024.pdf)
ENDS