30/04/2026
The continuing blame game being played out in the media about specialist fees is ignoring the realities of what’s driving costs for patients. Our new Gaps Poster shows once again how far behind the Medicare rebate has fallen, compared to the costs of healthcare.
Australia has had decades of under-indexation and half a decade of a Medicare freeze, leaving the rebate woefully out of reach of covering the cost of care.
And while recent government injections into Medicare bulk billing incentives are positive and have improved access to care, these relate to a tiny fraction of the more than 5,000 MBS items. These are ‘bolt-on’ incentives, not Medicare reform. And they don’t do anything if you need to see a specialist for a consultation, a privately billing GP, or you need surgery.
The continuing attacks on doctors are neither helpful nor focused on the kinds of significant reforms that would make a difference.
We need to:
👉 increase GP rebates under a new 7-tier item structure, which will ensure we have a fit-for-purpose Medicare, ready to tackle complex, chronic disease
👉 inject funding into Medicare rebates for non-GP specialists
👉 reform the no gap policy under private health insurance, increase the known gap rate, and introduce improved indexation and transparency of varying insurer rates
👉 invest in public hospital outpatient clinics so that patients have access to both public and private options for care.
Find out more 🔗https://www.ama.com.au/media/blame-games-distract-whats-really-impacting-costs-patients
