30/10/2025
Why we will not be bulk billing every appointment from Nov 1st….
At HoC we remain committed to providing thorough, personal and high quality medical care. No other practice in Mackay offers a 20 minute minimum for a standard consultation.
To remain financially viable (pay staff, rent, electricity, insurance etc) we are a mixed billing practice. We bulk bill 60% of patients (care plans, health assessments, kids under 12 and immunisations). The rest pay a gap and cross-subsidise those who are bulk billed.
The commonest problems we see are complex chronic care and mental health, which take time. The government is removing mental health items and has reduced the medicare rebate for care plans.
If we bulk billed everyone and every appointment then we would have to move to a “6 minute medicine“ model of rapid throughput and low quality care and cut services.
It’s called ‘churn and burn’. That is not the type of medicine we practice or you deserve.
To maintain our high standards and personal care, our practice will not switch to universal bulk billing despite what the government is promising in the media.
We know that the cost of healthcare is a concern and we encourage you to contact your local Federal Member of Parliament to explain how these changes impact you. You can also ask your GP if you qualify for a care plan for complex chronic disease or use the script clinic for regular repeat prescriptions.
We suggest that the government should increase your Medicare rebate to reduce your out of pocket costs and stop cutting patient chronic disease and mental health rebates.
https://www.andrewwillcox.com.au/
https://michellelandry.com.au/
