Articles on co-payment

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The amount doctors are paid for each consultation has traditionally increased year to year to account for the increased cost of care. Shutterstock

Rebate freeze will set GPs back $11 per general patient consultation, but they’re likely to charge them more

Christopher Harrison, University of Sydney; Clare Bayram, University of Sydney, and Helena Britt, University of Sydney

By 2020, the average GP will have lost A$109,000 in income due to the rebate freeze. To make up for this lost income, GPs will need to charge an A$11.40 co-payment per consultation.
Although the Coalition is largely associated with this issue, Labor first introduced the Medicare rebate freeze in 2013 as a ‘temporary’ measure. AAP/Joel Carrett

Confused about the Medicare rebate freeze? Here’s what you need to know

Helen Dickinson, The University of Melbourne

Labor will lift the rebate freeze from 2017, while under the Coalition, GPs will be paid the same amount for delivering health services in 2020 as they were in 2014. So what does this mean for patients?
Health Minister Sussan Ley has announced that the government is abandoning its plan to introduce a co-payment for GP visits. AAP/Lukas Coch

Medicare co‑payment timeline

Emil Jeyaratnam, The Conversation; Fron Jackson-Webb, The Conversation, and Reema Rattan, The Conversation

Finally abandoned on March 3, 2015, the GP co-payment has been something of an albatross around the Coalition government’s neck. Here are some highlights from the 14-month old policy’s short life.
A rise in the co-payment for medicines may lead to an increase in the rates of discontinuation for some drugs. Michael Cheng

Hidden cost of increasing drug co‑payment poses a high risk

Rachel Knott, Monash University; Emma Heeley, George Institute for Global Health; John Chalmers, George Institute for Global Health, and Philip Clarke, The University of Melbourne

Apart from proposing a co-payment for visiting doctors, the last federal budget also contained a proposal to increase the level of co-payments for medications. The government seems to have given little…
We need more transparency around specialist charges so referring GPs and patients can make informed decisions. Theen Moy/Flickr

For real health reform, turn the spotlight on specialists’ fees

Lesley Russell, University of Sydney

The impact of specialist fees on government and patient budgets has received little reform attention. This is despite the government’s push for controls in health-care spending and growing evidence of…

Related Topics

  1. Cardiovascular health
  2. GP co-payment
  3. Heart disease
  4. Julie Bishop
  5. Medical specialists
  6. Medicare
  7. Medicare rebates
  8. Medicare reform
  9. PBS
  10. Peta Credlin

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