News

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New tool to help GPs with ‘complex’ MBS billing

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On 1 November last year one of the Federal Government’s 2023–24 Budget standout general practice items – the tripling of bulk-billing incentives – kicked in.
 
Aligning with Government initiatives to strengthen Medicare, the measure was one of the RACGP’s key recommendations following ongoing advocacy to address decades of underfunding and cuts to MBS rebates, including the six-year freeze.

Adding to its existing webpage detailing the most up-to-date MBS changes, the RACGP has developed a fact sheet which includes:  

• general eligibility for bulk-billing incentives 
• tripled bulk-billing incentive item numbers by level of remoteness and eligible services 
• standard bulk-billing incentives (pre-existing items) 
• eligibility scenarios for the new tripled bulk-billing incentives 
• links to further information. 

RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins told newsGP the resource provides further guidance for GPs on changes to billing.
 
‘We’ve created this new fact sheet to help members understand the new bulk-billing incentives item structure, given its complexity,’ she said.
 
‘This is particularly helpful with the rollout of MyMedicare, because eligible patients need to be registered for MyMedicare to receive the tripled incentives for telehealth consultations Level C and above.
 
‘There are separate tripled bulk-billing incentive item numbers for services linked to MyMedicare.’
 
Late last year, MBS figures revealed that bulk-billing rates continued to fall amid the rollout of the new voluntary patient enrolment scheme. However, data released at the beginning of February revealed a 2.1% increase in the national bulk-billing rate in the first two months after the Budget measure kicked in.
 
Existing MBS bulk-billing incentive items, tripled incentives for all eligible patients and tripled incentives for MyMedicare services are all detailed in the RACGP fact sheet, including the breakdown of Modified Monash areas.
 
Dr Higgins encourages members to use the resource to ensure they are across correct billing practices.
 
‘This is a valuable resource to inform GPs with the latest rules on bulk-billing eligibility and item numbers – something I know I’m not alone in saying can often be a complex process to navigate,’ she said.
 
The bulk-billing incentives fact sheet is available on the RACGP’s news page, as well as the Medicare compliance summary webpage, with links to information about the MBS (see the ‘Bulk-billing incentives’ tab).
 
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bulk-billing incentives MBS items MyMedicare strengthening Medicare

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