GPs’ administrative workload to improve after reforms greenlit

The RACGP has welcomed long-awaited reforms designed to better integrate and modernise the process for the assignment of benefit for bulk-billed Medicare services.
 
The new laws come as updated data also reveals that bulk billing rates are bouncing back – now sitting at 79% and up significantly since the tripling of the incentive was introduced in November.
 
Following significant advocacy from the RACGP, the Health Insurance Legislation Amendment (Assignment of Medicare Benefits) Bill 2024 passed through Federal Parliament on Tuesday, which aims to reduce the administrative burden for GPs.
 
Under existing laws, patients must physically sign to consent for bulk billing benefits to be paid directly to the health provider – a rule labelled ‘fundamentally flawed’ and ‘stuck in the 1970s’.
 
But under the new laws, documenting consent can be done digitally and will enable an assignment to occur before or after a service is rendered.
 
It will now take up to 18 months for the changes to reach practices to allow time for appropriate consultation and for IT systems to be updated.
 
Additional changes on the way include enabling pre- or post-assignment of benefit, allowing enduring pre-assignment agreement in some cases, and removing the need to give patients a copy of the signed agreement if they do not request it.
 
RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins welcomed the reforms.
 
‘I applaud Senators for acting on the RACGP’s calls for change and passing these reforms – it will give GPs more time to spend on patient care,’ she said.
 
‘Removing the need for a physical signature will also make the process simpler and more convenient for patients, particularly those who are vulnerable. 
 
‘The regulatory burden on GPs is immense – our annual Health of the Nation report has found GPs are increasingly reporting the administrative workload and associated stress among their greatest concerns.’
 
Specifically, the report revealed that 60% of GPs are dissatisfied with the amount of administration involved in their work.
 
It found that for GPs who work between 20 and 59 hours each week, 5% of their time was taken up by administration tasks.
 
During the legislation’s final debate in Parliament on Tuesday, Labor Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said the financial viability of general practice was once in ‘serious trouble’, but she now hopes this reform, among others, will work towards reversing that trend.
 
‘Bulk billing was falling off a cliff because of the six-year freeze on Medicare rebates, which is why we tripled the bulk billing incentive from 1 November last year in the largest investment in bulk billing in history,’ she said.
 
‘I’m pleased to say that investment is working.’
 
The laws come as the Federal Government released new bulk billing data, revealing there has been more than two million additional bulk billed visits since the incentive was tripled in November.
 
According to the data, the GP bulk billing rate was 79% in May, a rise of 3.4% since October last year – the month before the incentives were rolled out.
 
This is up from 77.7% of GP consultations in March involving no patient payment.
 
Tasmanian patients have benefitted the most from the change, with rates up 8.1 percentage points since October, followed by 5.5 points in the Australian Capital Territory, 5 points in South Australia, and 4.8 points in the Northern Territory.
 
In Western Australia, bulk billing rates increased by 4.2 points, 3.4 points in Queensland, 3 points in Victoria, and 2.7 points in New South Wales.
 
Patients living in regional and rural areas saw the biggest increases, with around 900,000 additional bulk billed visits since the higher bulk billing incentives came into effect.
 
Dr Higgins said reducing the complexity of Medicare remains a priority for RACGP advocacy, and it will continue to call for change into the future.
 
‘I look forward to continuing to work with the government to reduce the red tape and administrative burden on GPs and practice teams, so we have more time to spend caring for patients and communities,’ she said.
 
Log in below to join the conversation.

assignment of benefit bulk billing legislation Medicare