A former Melbourne resident says he “probably” would not have moved to the area if he had known about poor access to medical services in northwest Victoria.
Key points:
- Red Cliffs resident Bryan Dyck says he had no idea finding a mass-billed GP would be so difficult when he moved from Melbourne.
- Waiting times at the two bulk billing clinics in the Mildura region are up to 18 days
- The AMA says the Medicare discount should be increased to help alleviate the problem
Bryan Dyck moved to Red Cliffs, near Mildura, shortly before the COVID pandemic began to seek an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Dyck required regular medical appointments after a work accident a few years ago, but says he had immense trouble finding a mass-billed doctor to take in new patients.
“Maybe I got hurt in Melbourne, we had a ‘super clinic’ where we could get in pretty easily,” he said.
“Up here, if I was sick today … I probably wouldn’t be able to get an appointment for at least seven or ten days.”
The ABC called 11 GPs in Mildura and surrounding suburbs this week.
Seven did not accept new patients, because they were in the capacity.
Only two of the services that accept new patients, Coomealla Aboriginal Health Corporation and Tristar Medical, said they would bill in bulk.
The waiting times for an appointment at each of these clinics were 14 and 18 days.
“It sounds crazy to me,” Mr. Dyck said.
“If I had known the medical problems up here were so bad, I probably wouldn’t have moved here. It’s so bad.”
Bulk billing issue
Mallee Family Care Executive Director Teresa Jayet said mass billing was vital for people struggling to pay for an appointment.
“If people don’t have access … they just won’t see a doctor,” he said.
“This creates a problem later on in the way where your health becomes more compromised and more costly.”
Ms Jayet said it also had flow effects for already full emergency departments.
Mildura Public Hospital has warned of long waiting times as they manage a “critical” shortage of beds.
AMA says increase the rebate
Tristar Medical Group, one of Victoria’s largest regional providers of general mass billing practices, entered the administration last week raising concerns about access to mass billing practices.
Marco Giuseppin, of the WADA Board of Rural Physicians, says the Medicare discount should increase. (Provided by: Marco Giuseppin)
The designated manager said the 29 Tristar clinics would remain open while looking for potential buyers.
Marco Giuseppin is the Chairman of the Board of Rural Physicians of the Medical Association of Australia.
He said the Medicare discount had not been up to date with the cost of running a practice.
“It hasn’t changed much since where it was established in the 1970s, when Medicare was established,” he said.
“You need 10 to 20 minutes of quality time with your patients. The current Medicare discount for this consultation is about $ 39.
“Without any positive action to address this, we would anticipate that in order to keep the doors open, an increasing number of practices will have to resort to filling gaps in their patients.”
Dr. Giuseppin said it was also easier for larger medical practices in metropolitan areas to bill in bulk, as they were able to share other costs throughout the practice.
Federal Labor MP Lisa Chesters says the Medicare bonus should be considered. (ABC Central Victoria: Tyrone Dalton)
The new government plans to go up
Bendigo Federal Labor MP Lisa Chesters said the rebate should be changed.
He said this could happen as soon as the October federal budget.
“The government is not paying enough,” he said.
“If we are genuine about having a universal health care system, we need to look at the Medicare rebate.”
Additional report by James Findlay.
Posted 7 hours ago 7 hours ago Friday 10 June 2022 at 06:21, updated 7 hours ago Friday 10 June 2022 at 06:24