Doctors to increase charges from November 1
Getting sick in Australia just became more expensive, as the Australian Medical Association (AMA) announced on Wednesday that members should increase fees from November 1. This means patients can expect to pay up to $78 to see a GP.
A freeze on Medicare payments has put pressure on medical professionals to cover rising costs, and sick Australians can expect to feel the pain in their hip pockets.
AMA Vice President Dr Tony Bartone told Daily Mail, “Input costs have gone up - rents, cost of insurance, cost of supplies - they continue to rise and in that environment we need to continue to apply a quality service. What is unfortunate is that we are in a middle of the MBS freeze.”
Dr Bartone is referring to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS).
The government announced this year it had extended a freeze on rebate paid to health professionals until 2020 in a bid to save $2.8 billion.
But Health Minister Sussan Ley defended the government’s position and said it was up the doctors to choose how much they charged patients.
Ms Ley said, “We respect and value that doctors are small businesses and they have scope to set their fees according to their wishes, their business model and their patient cohort.”
What’s your take? Do you think the government is putting unfair pressure on medical professionals? Or should they not be passing costs onto the consumer?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
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