1. What is bulk billing?

Bulk billing means that the practice is paid directly by Medicare, on behalf of the patient. This means that the amount paid for each medical service is the amount set by the Australian Government. Note that some consultations such as occupational and Workcover consultations are not covered at all by Medicare and will need to be paid for privately at the time of consultation.

2. Do you bulk bill?

Some services are bulk billed, including childhood immunisations, chronic disease care plans and Government funded health assessments. 

3. Why don’t you bulk bill everything?

Unfortunately the amount set by the Government for a consultation is insufficient to cover the costs of providing a high quality medical service. 

4. Why would I choose to pay a private fee rather than go to a bulk billing clinic?

Because of the low value the Australian Government places on primary care and General Practitioners as discussed above, bulk billing clinics will often need to see more patients in an hour, often need patients to come back to get test results and may not be able to spend as much time addressing your medical needs. At Health on Central we value your time as much as ours. We aim to keep waiting times to a minimum, we offer same day appointments for urgent matters, we have an excellent recall and test result notification system so our patients do not need to return for follow up appointments unless medically necessary.

This article gives a description of what GP's do in a consultation for their fee. What I do for $37.05 cents.