Changes to billing
From 1st June 2022, Northern Medical Centre has become a Mixed Billing Practice for NEW Patients. and from 1st July 2022 for ALL patients. Our fees reflect the time taken and the degree of complexity of each consultation. Private fees are required to be paid on the day of consultation. EFTPOS facilities are available for your convenience. We can assist you with your Medicare Rebate.
This will not apply to our regular patients. We will currently continue to bulk bill our regular patients. This will be at the doctor’s discretion
Why is this change necessary?
Unfortunately, we are no longer able to sustain 100% bulk billing due to inflation and the amount set by the Government does not cover the cost of providing a high-quality medical service. The costs of running an accredited medical practice, such as ours, continue to rise, and Medicare rebates have not kept pace. We have had to make the difficult decision that offering fully bulk-billed service is no longer viable. The Government currently pays approximately 54% less than the recommended Australian Medical Association fees for a consultation less than 20 minutes and froze the rebate for the last few years. This meant there was no increase in income for this period of time despite increases in wages, rental expenses, equipment and consumables, etc.
We value our doctors and think they are worth more than the low level rebates the Government is prepared to pay for their service. We want to attract and maintain the very best General Practitioners and continue maintaining a high-quality service.
Who would still be Bulk billed?
Access to healthcare is our top priority. Therefore, certain patients will continue to be bulk-billed. these include.
- All our regular patients
- All Covid vaccines
- Flu Vaccine appointments will be bulk billed, vaccine itself will incur a fee for those patients that are not eligible for government vaccine program after 30th June 2022.
What is mixed-billing?
Mixed-billing means that most patients will now pay a ‘gap payment’ for appointments. A gap payment is an out-of-pocket cost that is the difference between the practice’s private fee and your Medicare rebate.
However, our regular patients will continue to be bulk billed. Bulk billing is at doctor’s discretion
2. When will bulk-billing still apply?
Access to healthcare is very important to us. Therefore,
- our regular patients will continue to be bulk-billed.
- Covid Vaccines will continue to be Bulk Billed.
- Flu Vaccine appointments will be bulk billed, vaccine itself will incur a fee for those patients that are not eligible for government vaccine program after 30th June 2022.
3. How will the fee be processed?
You will be charged the full consultation fee to your credit or debit card at the end of your appointment.
We can then electronically process your Medicare rebate on your behalf. The rebate should appear in your bank account within 1-2 business days. We recommend that you ensure your bank details are up to date on my.gov.au to avoid any delays in receiving your rebate. Patients who are not bulk-billed or concession card holders should expect an out-of-pocket fee of approximately $50 for a standard consultation.
4. How will I know the cost of my appointment before I come in?
Our reception staff will always try to give you the most accurate advice possible about the costs of your appointment ahead of time. However, please keep in mind that the reception staff will only be able to offer you advice based on the information you provide and that your type of consultation may vary in your appointment.
Key indicators that will change the cost of your appointment include the length (time) of your appointment, how many issues you discuss with the doctor, and whether there is a procedure involved in your appointment. We have tried our best to keep the gap payment as consistent as possible across all appointment types so that patients do not experience too much variation.
5. Reasons for the change in policy:
Rising inflation and freezing Medicare rebates have compelled us to make this change. We are committed to maintaining and improving the quality of healthcare we provide, in order to protect the sustainability of this practice we feel we need to make this change to be able to attract new doctors to the clinic.
From the very beginning, we have been striving to recruit doctors to provide high quality care to the community by providing sufficient appointments and to open extended hours.
Unfortunately, most of the doctors in past who showed interest in working at Northern Medical centre decided not to pursue working here as soon as they learnt that we are Bulk-billing medical centre. They decided to work in mixed billing medical centres nearby to maintain their financial sustainability.
The point about transition from Bulk-billing to mixed billing is not to inflict financial hardship on the patient, but to find a dollar amount that equates to having the service valued for what is actually costs and what it is actually worth.
At this point, we would also like to clarify one more point. The fee associated with your consultation with doctor needs to cover all our practice costs including employing nurses and receptionist as well as covering operational cost such as rent, medical equipment, electricity, insurances and keeping up with technical advances that improve patient’s experience.
All the above-mentioned expenses are unfortunately not covered by Medicare. As you can imagine, the impact of covid, the rent and outgoings, staff wages and supply of medical consumables cost a lot and we need to maintain the sustainably while proving quality service.
We cannot thank you enough for your ongoing support of our practice – in the past and into the future – as we make this transition.
Kind regards,
Procedures also have a private fee. Please ask the reception for details.
Private fees for the services which cannot be billed to Medicare:
- Insurance Medical
- Commercial drive medical
- Taxi/Uber license
