The federal government is undervaluing general practices around the country, according to a doctor who says cost pressures are pushing patients to hospital emergency departments.
He said Medicare currently paid $39.10 for a consult between six and 20 minutes, which could leave a practitioner with as little as $10 income from the appointment."That [$39.10] needs to pay for your room rental, your disposables, you've got to pay for your receptionist and your nursing salary," he said."General practices can't run and can't remain sustainable being bulk-billing practices.
"Medicare was never actually meant to be the full service fee, it was set up as 85 per cent of the service fee, [with] patients co-contributing," Dr Armstrong said.
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